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さ and サ

Pronunciation

“So” sound in Sock.

These characters are usually written with “S-A” in romaji, but they actually sound closer to the “So” in “sob” or “sock”.

さ Memorization Story

The hiragana さ is the face of your angry dad when he sees, and SMELLS all of your dirty socks that you’ve left all over the floor of your bedroom.

サ Memorization Story

The katakana サ on the other hand is YOUR face looking out from behind the bed as you SOb with a sheepish smile on your face, because you know what’s coming. 

Writing

 
 

The hiragana さ is written very similarly to き, except that it has one less horizontal line. 

The 3rd stroke in the katakana サ will usually start slightly ABOVE where the 2nd stroke started.

Font Examples

さ　　サ

さ　　サ

さ　　サ

さ　　サ

さ　　サ

Note that the 3rd stroke in the hiragana さ is usually CONNECTED to the 2nd stroke in most computer fonts, but is usually NOT connected in writing. The second stroke slices up to the left a bit in anticipation of the 3rd stroke.  

Typing

Hiragana さ
Type the letters “sa”.

Katakana サ
Type "sa" and press the F7 key, or press spacebar until the katakana appears. 

Word(s)

さく

to bloom

サクサク

crunchy, sound of crunching

 

 

Historical Form

Hiragana
左→さ

HISTORICAL VERSION

 

Katakana
散→サ

PART BORROWED

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ToKini Kana Introduction Page あ・ア い・イ う・ウ え・エ お・オ Consonant Vowel Combinations か・カ き・キ く・ク け・ケ こ・コ Kana Reading Practice 1 さ・サ し・シ す・ス せ・セ そ・ソ た・タ ち・チ つ・ツ て・テ と・ト Kana Reading Practice 2 な・ナ に・ニ ぬ・ヌ ね・ネ の・ノ は・ハ ひ・ヒ ふ・フ へ・ヘ ほ・ホ Kana Reading Practice 3 ま・マ み・ミ む・ム め・メ も・モ や・ヤ ゆ・ユ よ・ヨ Kana Reading Practice 4 ら・ラ り・リ る・ル れ・レ ろ・ロ わ・ワ を・ヲ ん・ン Kana Reading Practice 5 Dakuten, Han-Dakuten, and Sokuon Kana Reading Practice 6 Kana Combinations Kana Reading Practice 7 Special Katakana Combinations The End Kana Worksheets