Use of さ as a filler


how often is さ used as a filler like our “like”? is it very common?

for example, could i say 「私さスタバへさ行ったさ…」？




First, your example, 私さスタバへさ行ったさ, sounds funny because:

  * 行った is a 終止形, so attaching a filler after it sounds weird. True sentence-end さ [exists](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/1895/5010), but it has a different function and tone. さ in 行っ **て** さ works as a filler.
  * You normally need a comma after each filler.
  * さ is relatively masculine, and it's most commonly used with 俺.

After fixing them, something like this would look much better:

> 俺さ、昨日さ、スタバにさ、行ってさ、アイスコーヒーをさ、頼んでさ、それでさ、…

This sentence is still unrealistic, but it's simply because there are too many
fillers. It's for showing where and how you can insert the filler naturally.

So, how common is this type of さ in reality? It's a bit hard question to me. I
believe young people in Kanto (especially "charai" ones who like to hang
around in Shibuya or Harajuku) use it a lot, but I spent my childhood in
several western parts of Japan where either な or の was the most common filler.
I now live in Tokyo, but I rarely hear さ in my daily life, at least partly
because most people around me are businesspersons, researchers or otaku who
tend to prefer ね.

