The difference between み and さ
(Adjective + み and さ : A+mi and A+sa)

The difference between み and さ (Adjective + み and さ : A+mi and A+sa). Hi everyone, to convert from adjectives to nouns, we often add suffixes み or さ behind the adjective.

However, how different are nouns that are tailed with み or さ?

In this article, Learn Japanese daily would like to introduce to you how み is different from さ in this situation.

Adjectives which are tailed with い :

How to form : We leave out the い  and then  add み or さ.

For example: 

強い（つよい）-> 強さ, 強み（つよみ）、良い（よい）-> 良さ、嬉しい（うれしい）-> 嬉しさ、大きい(おおきい）->大きさ, 広い（ひろい）->広さ.

Adjectives which are tailed with な :

→ We only need to add み or さ behind the adjectives (with out な) .

For example:

立派な（りっぱ）->立派さ、静かな（しずかな）->静かさ.

The difference between み and さ

Adjective + さ

さ is added to adjectives to indicate the degree, the state of being…, the condition… of the adjectives.

It is added objectively, especially when being measured, counted by measurement equipment.

For example:

重さ（おもさ）、高さ（たかさ）、寒さ（さむさ）…  can always be measured by measurement equipment.

さ is the suffix that is used commonly and safely when converting adjectives to nouns.

Adjective + み

み is also used to indicate the degree, the state of being … , the condition… of the adjectives, however, it is less objective than objectives + さ. objectives + み is often subjective, showing the speaker’s point of view. Therefore, adjectives + み is more likely personal feelings.

For example:

痛み（いたみ : Pain)、苦しみ（くるしみ : Misery）、楽しみ（たのしみ : Happiness）、強み（つよみ : Strength）

There are many adjectives can be used with the suffix さ to convert to nouns as mentioned previously. However, it doesn’t work that way for み.

For example:

静かさ（しずか）, 良さ（よさ）, 広さ（ひろさ）, 立派さ（りっぱさ）, 片苦しさ（くるしさ）, 美しさ（うつくしさ）,嬉しさ（うれしさ）, 大きさ（おおきさ）, 静かさ（しずかさ.

Therefore, if you’re confused whether you should add み or さ, choose さ because it’s more common and a safe choice. Only use み with words that you know, because they have some certain limits.

Above are Learn Japanese daily’s perspectives about The difference between み and さ, if you find it contradictory, feel free to comment below!

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