The Many Uses of 〜さ

Introduction

Welcome, to "さ's many uses"! I won't sugar-coat it, this article is going to be on the longer side... but don't be さd, さ is super fun and (relatively) easy to use! Not to mention how learning its ins and outs will really level up your Japanese. So let's get right on to it!

「さ」: Interjection? Particle? Both!

Another grammar point with multiple uses? What a さprize.

...

Anyone?

I'll start by telling you that 「さ」 can function in three distinct ways:

• 

  As an interjection at the start of a sentence

• 

  As a particle at the end of a sentence

• 

  As filler in the middle of a sentence

Correctly using さ is a big part of sounding native and/or natural, especially in casual spoken scenarios, so be sure to add these to your grammatical toolkit. Or, toolbelt? Idk what's fashionable these days. Back in my day...