Where does “tja” come from?

tja (Dutch) comes from Dutch ja, from Middle Dutch ja, from Old Dutch jā, from Proto-West Germanic jā, from Proto-Germanic ja, from Proto-Indo-European yē — already.

tja (Dutch): hmm, yeah well

Definitions

  1. hmm, yeah well

Ancestry of “tja”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Dutchjayes; yes!
2Middle Dutchja—
3Old Dutchjā—
4Proto-West Germanicjāyes; thus, so
5Proto-Germanicjayes; thus, so
6Proto-Indo-Europeanyēalready
Every word from Proto-Indo-European yē →