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Etymology 1

The katakana character サ (sa) with a dakuten (゛).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [d͡za̠]

Syllable

ザ • (za)

The katakana syllable ザ (za). Its equivalent in hiragana is ざ (za).

Usage notes

The katakana syllabary is used primarily for transcription of foreign language words into Japanese and the writing of gairaigo (loan words), as well as to represent onomatopoeias, technical and scientific terms, and the names of plants, animals, and minerals. It is also occasionally used in some words for emphasis, or to ease reading; katakana may be preferred for words becoming buried in the text if they are written under their canonical form in hiragana. Names of Japanese companies, as well as certain Japanese language words such as colloquial terms, are also sometimes written in katakana rather than the other systems. Formerly, female firstnames would often be written in katakana.

See also

(Katakana) 片仮名; アァ, イィ, ウゥヴ, エェ(𛀀), オォ, カヵガ, キギ, クグ, ケヶゲ, コゴ, サザ, シジ, スズ, セゼ, ソゾ, タダ, チヂ, ツッヅ, テデ, トド, ナ, ニ, ヌ, ネ, ノ, ハバパ, ヒビピ, フブプ, ヘベペ, ホボポ, マ, ミ, ム, メ, モ, ヤャ, 𛄠 (𛄠), ユュ, エ/𛄡 (𛄡), ヨョ, ララ゚, リリ゚, ルル゚, レレ゚, ロロ゚, ワヮヷ, ヰヸ, 𛄢 (𛄢), ヱヹ, ヲヺ, ン, ー, ヽ, ヾ

Etymology 2

Borrowed from English the.

Particle

ザ • (za)

(colloquial) Used to add emphasis to a noun and imply that it is a classic example of something.

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:ザ.

See also

of(オブ) (obu, with similar function, literally “of”)

Further reading

Victor Mair (2013 October 30) “Za stall in Newtown”, in Language Log‎