SAMA is valid in Collins, not in North America — 6 points
It depends on the list you play by. SAMA 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 6 points. Words with Friends does not accept it either.
Which word lists accept SAMA?
| 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 | Not listed |
Word power: 34 / 100
Our own measure of how useful SAMA is to know. It scores 6 from 4 tiles, takes 2 hooks, and its letters make up 6.0% of the bag. How this number is calculated
Hooks for SAMA
Checked against OSPD, TWL, CSW, WWF. Takes an S, so it hooks onto plurals easily.
How SAMA scores
Face value of the 4 tiles in SAMA, before any board multiplier.
Tiles you need
| Letter | Needed | In the bag |
|---|---|---|
| s | 1 | 4 |
| a | 2 | 9 |
| m | 1 | 2 |
Drawing exactly these 4 tiles as an opening rack: 1 in 13,615.
What stands out about SAMA
- The same 4 tiles also spell 3 other words, so the rack is worth re-reading before you play it.
Counted from the four word lists we hold, not taken from anywhere else. How we calculate things
What does SAMA mean in Scrabble?
noun
A Japanese title of great respect, added after a name to address someone of high standing.
Sama is used in Japanese after a name or title in place of the more everyday san, and it marks strong respect or formality toward the person addressed. English writers borrow sama mainly when representing Japanese speech or honorific titles in translation, so the word appears in English texts as a marked foreign term rather than as part of ordinary vocabulary.
How SAMA is used
Occurs in English mainly within translated or Japan-related writing; not used in ordinary conversation.
- The servant bowed and addressed him only as sama.
- Adding sama to the name showed unusual deference.
- The letter opened with a formal sama after the recipient's name.
- She was startled to be called sama by a stranger.
- In the play, only the king is addressed with sama.
Written for this site: 1 meaning of SAMA and 5 example sentences, not copied from a published dictionary.
Anagrams of SAMA
The 4 tiles of SAMA in a different order — 3 found.
Words starting with SAMA
16 longer words begin with SAMA.
Words ending in SAMA
1 words end in SAMA. Useful as a back hook: play SAMA onto a word already on the board.
Words with SAMA inside
3 words contain SAMA in the middle. Words that start with SAMA are listed separately above, so nothing is repeated.
Shorter words from the letters in SAMA
Common questions about SAMA
- Is SAMA valid in Words with Friends?
- No. Words with Friends keeps its own list, separate from the Scrabble dictionaries, and SAMA is not in it.
- How many points is SAMA worth?
- SAMA is worth 6 points in Scrabble and 7 points in Words with Friends.
- What does SAMA mean?
- A Japanese title of great respect, added after a name to address someone of high standing.
- What letters can be added to SAMA?
- SAMA takes 2 hooks: 0 in front and 2 at the end.
Every word you can build from the 4 letters of SAMA:
Open SAMA in the Word Finder