Where does “जो” come from?
जो (Hindi) comes from Urdu جو, from Sauraseni Prakrit 𑀚𑁄, from Sanskrit यः, from Proto-Indo-Aryan Hyás, from Indo-Iranian *Hyás, from Proto-Indo-European Hyós — who, which; already.
जो (Hindi): the relative pronoun; if
Ancestry of “जो”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Urdu | جو | — |
| 2 | Sauraseni Prakrit | 𑀚𑁄 | — |
| 3 | Sanskrit | यः | — |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-Aryan | Hyás | — |
| 5 | Indo-Iranian | *Hyás | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | Hyós | who, which; already |