What does さあ (saa) mean?


I have seen this term used a lot in many different ways.

「さあ、忘れましょうその未来が」 _saa, wasuremashou sono mirai ga_ — in this sense, I assume
it means "come". But I have also seen it used as 「でもさあ」 _demo saa_ — which I
would assume means "well you know" or some other expression.

Would like to get some more clarification on this word. I know it is informal
to use. But the actual meaning and when it is appropriate to use it would
help.




We are actually talking about two different words here.

When used in phrases such as 「さあ、[忘]{わす}れましょう」 and「さあ、[行]{い}きましょう」, 「さあ」 is an
exclamation/interjection expressing the speaker's intention to invite or press
the other person to perform an action. It has a meaning close to that of
"okay", "now" and "c'mon".

When 「さあ」 is used in phrases such as 「でもさあ」,「あのさあ」 and 「それでさあ」, it is just a
filler meaning nothing. Grammatically, it is a particle. It is used like "um",
"like", "ah", etc. in English. Strictly speaking, the dictionary word is just
「さ」 and 「さあ」 is only its variant pronunciation.

For a filler, each native speaker has his "usual" one that he uses repeatedly,
which means that not everyone uses 「さ」 or 「さあ」 actively. Other choices include
「ね」, 「ねえ」, 「よ」, 「よう」, etc.




We are actually talking about two different words here.

When used in phrases such as 「さあ、[忘]{わす}れましょう」 and「さあ、[行]{い}きましょう」, 「さあ」 is an
exclamation/interjection expressing the speaker's intention to invite or press
the other person to perform an action. It has a meaning close to that of
"okay", "now" and "c'mon".

When 「さあ」 is used in phrases such as 「でもさあ」,「あのさあ」 and 「それでさあ」, it is just a
filler meaning nothing. Grammatically, it is a particle. It is used like "um",
"like", "ah", etc. in English. Strictly speaking, the dictionary word is just
「さ」 and 「さあ」 is only its variant pronunciation.

For a filler, each native speaker has his "usual" one that he uses repeatedly,
which means that not everyone uses 「さ」 or 「さあ」 actively. Other choices include
「ね」, 「ねえ」, 「よ」, 「よう」, etc.

