sa’am/sadam

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.”