sensushi
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さ details

high + 〜さ — makes an adjective into a noun naming how much of the property there is

taka sa

〜さ — makes an adjective into a noun naming how much of the property there is

この橋はしの長ながさは、およそ二にキロあります。

kono hashi no nagasa wa, oyoso ni kiro arimasu.

This bridge is about two kilometres long. neutral

この店みせは味あじより値段ねだんの安やすさで選えらんだんだよね。

kono mise wa aji yori nedan no yasusa de eranda n da yo ne.

I picked this place for how cheap it is rather than for the food. casual

  • i-adjective stem
  • na-adjective

Examples

the dimension itself — with a measuring adjective, the さ-noun is the name of what you measure

この橋はしの長ながさは、およそ二にキロあります。

kono hashi no nagasa wa, oyoso ni kiro arimasu.

This bridge is about two kilometres long. neutral

荷物にもつの重おもさ、これ以上いじょうだと追加ついか料金りょうきんかかるって。

nimotsu no omosa, kore ijou da to tsuika ryoukin kakarutte.

Apparently there's an extra charge if the luggage weighs more than this. casual

how much — with an evaluating adjective, the さ-noun names the degree the speaker felt or judged

この店みせは味あじより値段ねだんの安やすさで選えらんだんだよね。

kono mise wa aji yori nedan no yasusa de eranda n da yo ne.

I picked this place for how cheap it is rather than for the food. casual

初はじめて一人ひとりで山やまに登のぼって、自然しぜんの厳きびしさを知しりました。

hajimete hitori de yama ni nobotte, shizen no kibishisa o shirimashita.

Climbing a mountain alone for the first time, I learned how harsh nature is. neutral

今回こんかいの事故じこで、点検てんけんの大切たいせつさを改あらためて認識にんしきいたしました。

konkai no jiko de, tenken no taisetsusa o aratamete ninshiki itashimashita.

This accident has brought home to us once again how important inspections are. formal

Formation

Notes

み is not a spelling of the same suffix: 甘あまさ measures how sweet
something is, 甘あまみ names the sweet taste itself, and み attaches
to a short closed list (深ふかみ, 重おもみ, 弱よわみ) rather than freely.

Related patterns

Similar

  • こと

    こと keeps the clause a proposition and can be true or false (難むずかしいことは分わかっている); さ extracts the DEGREE as a measurable noun, so a number, a comparison or 〜が分わかる can attach to it (この問題もんだいの難むずかしさ) where こと takes none of them.

  • の

    の wraps a whole clause and leaves the adjective conjugating inside it (高たかいのが気きになる); さ replaces the adjective with a noun outright, which is why さ can head a genitive (この山やまの高たかさ) and の cannot.

Lookalikes

  • げ

    Same adjective stem, two suffixes that never swap — さ builds a noun that takes が and を (寂さびしさが伝つたわる), げ builds a modifier reporting how the feeling LOOKS from outside (寂さびしげな顔かお), so げ never appears as the subject of a sentence.

  • そうだ

    Both sit on the bare adjective stem, and the tail decides the part of speech — 高たかさ is a noun you can measure (高たかさは三さんメートル), 高たかそう is a guess that behaves as a な-adjective (高たかそうな時計とけい); さ makes no claim about whether the speaker has checked.