The Suffix さ (sa) in Japanese

The suffix さ (sa) in Japanese

Japanese has 4 suffixes commonly used for nominalisation (名詞化接尾辞:めいしかせつびじ): “さ”, “み”, “め” and “き”. Mostly “さ” and “み” are used, and these are also the two that get mixed up with each other. Rather than comparing them side by side, I will set out the use of “さ” and “み” separately. This article draws on research I looked up online and on asking Japanese teachers, so you can be reasonably confident in it^^.
This article explains the suffix “さ”.

1. Used with native Japanese words (大和言葉:やまとことば、固有語彙:こゆうごい)
Examples:
痛さ(いたさ: the degree of pain),
高さ(たかさ: height),
楽しさ(たのしさ: how enjoyable something is),
遠さ(とおさ: distance),
短さ(みじかさ: shortness ),
にぎやかさ: how noisy and lively something is)

2. With Sino-Japanese words (漢語語彙:かんごごい)
Examples:
偉大さ(いだいさ: greatness),
幼稚さ(ようちさ: childishness).

3. With loanwords (外来語語彙: がいらいごごい)
Examples:
チャーミングさ: how charming something is
モダンさ( modernity)

4. Besides simple adjectives (単純形容詞: たんじゅんけいようし) such as
古さ(ふるさ: how old something is),
暑さ(あつさ: the heat),
the suffix “さ” is also used with reduplicated adjectives (反復形容詞: はんぷくけいようし).

Examples:
清々しさ(すがすがしさ: how refreshing something is);

5. With derived adjectives (派生形容詞: はせいけいようし)
Examples:
男らしさ、女らしさ、子供らしさ。

6. With compound adjectives (複合形容詞:ふくごうけいようし).
Examples:
蒸し暑さ(むしあつさ: muggy, humid heat)
, 幅広さ(はばひろさ: width (of a road), range (of a singing voice), breadth of connections,…

7. With adjectives of the senses (知覚: ちかく) or attributes (属性形容詞: ぞくせいけいようし).
Examples:
-Sight(視覚:しかく):赤さ、黒さ、白さ( how red, black or white something is).
-次元(3 dimensions): 高さ、長さ、広さ(height, length, breadth).
– Hearing(聴覚:ちょうかく): pitch of voice(声の高さ), loudness of voice( 声の大きさ).
– Taste ( 味覚: みかく): 甘さ(あまさ: sweetness), 辛さ( からさ: spiciness).
-Smell( 嗅覚: きゅうかく): 臭さ(くささ: a foul smell), 香ばしさ(こうばしさ: a fragrant smell).
-Touch( 触覚: しょっかく):硬さ(かたさ: hardness), 柔らかさ(やわらかさ: softness).

8. With relational adjectives (関係形容詞: かんけいけいようし).
Examples:
親しさ(したしさ: closeness),
近しさ(ちかしさ: familiarity).

9.Intuitive adjectives (直感形容詞:ちょっかんけいようし) or evaluative adjectives ( 評価形容詞:ひょうかけいようし).
Examples:
美しさ(うつくしさ: beauty),
強さ( つよさ: strength),
醜さ(みにくさ: ugliness ),
難しさ(むずかしさ: difficulty).

10. With subjective adjectives (主観形容詞:しゅかんけいようし) or adjectives of emotion and feeling (感情形容詞: かんじょうけいようし).
Examples:
苦しさ(くるしさ: how painful something is)
嬉しさ(うれしさ: how happy something is ).

11.Verbs in the たい form can be nominalised with the suffix “さ”
Examples:
ライブ行きたいさに、ファンクラブにも入ってしまったほどです。
(I wanted to see the live show so much that I went and joined the fan club)

12. With degree forms such as ~にくい、~やすい、~づらい、~がたい, “さ” can also be used.
Example: この薬は飲みにくい. Nominalised with ” さ” it becomes:
この薬(くすり)の飲みにくさ: how hard this medicine is to take.

Those are the basic uses of the suffix “さ” when nominalising an adjective or na-adjective.

We can conclude that the suffix ” さ” is used when talking about a quality(性質: せいしつ), a state(状態: じょうたい), a degree(程度: ていど) or 数量(すうりょう：a quantity).