The particle सा has several uses in Hindi. When used as an adjective, it inflects just like an adjective (सा / से / सी).
With Adjectives
When used with adjectives, सा can diminish the degree of an adjective or modify the adjective in a manner similar to the suffix -ish in English, indicating an approximation.
मैं लाल से कपड़े पहना हुआ हूं – “I’m wearing reddish clothes”
हमें एक और छोटी सी बात की चर्चा करनी है – “We need to discuss one more minor matter”
This use can also indicate an increased degree:
उनके पास बहुत सा पैसा है – “They have a lot of money”
Compounds
When कौन is used with सा, the expression forms an interrogative adjective, कौन सा, meaning “which”.
तुमने कौन सी मूवी देखी – “Which movie did you watch?”
When इतना is used with सा, it means something like “so much”.
मैं इतना सा खाना खा पता हूं – “I can only eat so much food!”
मैं इतने से समय तक उसको बर्दाश्त कर सकता हूं – “I can only tolerate him for so much time”
When used with एक, the expression means “alike”.
‘प्रयोग’ शब्द और ‘इस्तेमाल’ शब्द के मतलब एक-से हैं – “The word ‘prayog’ and the word ‘istemaal’ have the same meaning”
Similarity
सा can be used with a noun to mean “like” in a manner similar to के जैसा or की तरह:
मैं तुम्हारी सी लड़की से शादी करना चाहता हूं – “I want to marry a girl like you”
उसका माथा आग सा गरम था – “His forehead was hot like fire”
With Possessives
सा can be used with possessives to indicate a comparison:
उसके पास हाथी की सी शक्ति है – “His strength is like that of an elephant!”
4 replies on “सा”
Hai David…Is the usage of “पता” in the sentence मैं इतना सा खाना खा पता हूं correct?? Lemme know its meaning here..thnq
No. Of course, I meant to write “पाता”.
Hai…The sentence u mentioned मैं इतने से समय तक उसको बर्दाश्त कर सकता हूं – “I can only tolerate him for so much time”…Shouldn’t it be just “I can tolerate him for so much time(with emphasis on being such a long time)”??? The usage of ‘only” is incorrect I guess..Pls clarify
No, the sentence is correct. You’ve misunderstood the use of “so”. “So” can be intensive, like “I ate so much food!”. It can also indicate an indefinite, limited amount: e.g. “A person can only stay awake for so long”, or “a person only lives for so many years”. “so long” doesn’t mean “a long time” here; it means “a certain, limited amount of time”. “so many years” doesn’t mean “a lot of years” here; it means “a certain, limited number of years”. This is the same sense that इतने से समय तक has above – “a certain amount of time”.