Gender neutral term for ‘
ma’am’ or ‘sir.’ Even though ‘sa’am’ is a portmanteau of the
words ‘
ma’am’ and ‘sir,’ ‘sa’am’ includes all genders and is formal.
Sa’am/sadam: a gender neutral, polite attention getter similar to
ma’am or sir.
*A customer forgets a bag at the counter in a retail store. The cashier finds the customer to bring them their bag, but needs to get their attention first. Because the cashier doesn’
t know the customers preferred pronouns, they will use sa’am to politely catch the customer’
s attention without assuming the customer’s
gender.*
Cashier: “Excuse me, sa’am, but you left your bag on the counter at my register.”
Customer: “Oh my, I didn’
t even realize. Thank you, sa’am, and have a great
day!”
Cashier: “No problem, sa’am. You also have a great
day.”