all right
there we go
now・you see
well (I don’t know
let me see)
Structure
- さ / さぁ / さあ / さー + Phrase
Generally the lengthened “さあ” is used more often than the shorter “さ”
[Used when asking/inviting the listener to do something, or when troubled/surprised/confused about how to answer when asked something]
In the example sentence:
足は（どう）？
大丈夫よ。さあ早く…
Why is どう in brackets? I get that normally means its optional or implied but it just feels to me that it’d be hard to understand context unless you were visually indicating the leg or an injury has just occurred. Not missing anything am I?
An injury or some other problem (like being tired) is what I’d automatically assume from a question like “足は？” even without the context telling me that the answer is 大丈夫 and not something like ２本ありますよ. To me the dialog without the どう reads like an exchange in an anime where the party is running away from something, and the hero is trying to downplay an injured leg.
Admittedly most my native materials are anime, manga and games. So I know my exposure isn’t great.
From my skewed experiences, どう is often said even when context allows it to be left out. Was left with the impression that is was natural to say it, maybe I’m way off though and will be laughed at by natives in the future.
@nekoyama @musera
Adding どう？ definietly emphazises any request for information. It becomes further emphazised with だ・です. For example:
ケーキは？ How’s the cake?
ケーキはどう？ Hows the cake? [Did you like the cake?]
ケーキはどうだ？ How’s the cake? [HEY. I really need to know whether or not you liked the cake.]
Source: a Japanese friend of mine told me I was being too intense with my request for confirmation on how good something I cooked was 