SAI is valid in Collins, not in North America — 3 points
It depends on the list you play by. SAI is in Collins, used in the UK and most of the world, but it is not in the North American lists — so in a US or Canadian game an opponent can challenge it off the board. Worth 3 points. Words with Friends does accept it.
Which word lists accept SAI?
| Official Scrabble Players DictionaryUSA, Canada, Thailand | Not listed |
|---|---|
| Official Tournament and Club Word ListUSA, Canada, Thailand | Not listed |
| Collins Scrabble WordsEnglish in most countries | Valid |
| Words with FriendsZynga word list | Valid |
Word power: 49 / 100
Our own measure of how useful SAI is to know. It scores 3 from 3 tiles, takes 7 hooks, and its letters make up 7.3% of the bag. How this number is calculated
Hooks for SAI
Checked against OSPD, TWL, CSW, WWF. Takes an S, so it hooks onto plurals easily.
How SAI scores
Face value of the 3 tiles in SAI, before any board multiplier.
Tiles you need
| Letter | Needed | In the bag |
|---|---|---|
| s | 1 | 4 |
| a | 1 | 9 |
| i | 1 | 9 |
Drawing exactly these 3 tiles as an opening rack: 1 in 499.
What does SAI mean in Scrabble?
noun
technicalhistorical
A short, two-pronged dagger from Okinawa, traditionally carried in pairs and used in martial arts training.
The sai was originally a farming and law-enforcement tool before it became a recognised martial arts weapon, with two curved prongs beside the main blade designed to catch and trap a longer weapon such as a sword. Practitioners of Okinawan kobudo still train with a pair of sai to develop grip, timing and defensive technique.
How SAI is used
Used mainly in the context of martial arts history and training rather than everyday speech.
- The instructor demonstrated how to block a strike using a single sai.
- Each student was given a wooden sai to practise the basic forms.
- The museum display included a rusted sai found near an old village.
- He spun the sai in a slow circle to warm up his wrist.
- The kata called for a sai in each hand throughout the sequence.
- Collectors prize an antique sai forged before the weapon's export overseas.
- The trainer explained how the sai's prongs could trap an opponent's blade.
- A single sai hung on the wall beside the other training weapons.
Written for this site: 1 meaning of SAI and 8 example sentences, not copied from a published dictionary.
Where else you’ll see SAI
- The sai began as an everyday farming implement before Okinawan martial artists adapted it into a weapon of self-defence.
- The three-pronged shape of the sai, with two curved side prongs, is designed specifically to catch and immobilise a longer blade.
Anagrams of SAI
The 3 tiles of SAI in a different order — 1 found.
Words starting with SAI
Showing 24 of 125 words that begin with SAI.
Words ending in SAI
4 words end in SAI. Useful as a back hook: play SAI onto a word already on the board.
Words with SAI inside
Showing 24 of 187 words that contain SAI somewhere in the middle. Words that start with SAI are listed separately above, so nothing is repeated.
Shorter words from the letters in SAI
Common questions about SAI
- Is SAI valid in Words with Friends?
- Yes. Words with Friends accepts SAI, where it scores 3 points. That game keeps its own list, separate from the Scrabble dictionaries.
- How many points is SAI worth?
- SAI is worth 3 points in Scrabble and 3 points in Words with Friends.
- What does SAI mean?
- A short, two-pronged dagger from Okinawa, traditionally carried in pairs and used in martial arts training.
- What letters can be added to SAI?
- SAI takes 7 hooks: 0 in front and 7 at the end.
Every word you can build from the 3 letters of SAI:
Open SAI in the Word Finder