Where does “tidak apa-apa” come from?

tidak apa-apa (Indonesian) comes from Indonesian apa-apa, from Malay apa-apa, from Malay apa, from Proto-Malayic apa, from Proto-Austronesian *apa.

tidak apa-apa (Indonesian): it's okay; no problem; it's nothing; it doesn't matter

Definitions

  1. it's okay; no problem; it's nothing; it doesn't matter

Ancestry of “tidak apa-apa”, step by step

tidak apa-apa traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Indonesian apa-apa

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Indonesianapa-apaanything
2Malayapa-apaanything
3Malayapawhat; "introduces a question"
4Proto-Malayicapawhat
5Proto-Austronesian*apa—

via Indonesian tidak

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Indonesiantidaknot
2Malaytidaknot
3Proto-Malayicdaʔ—
4Proto-Malayo-Polynesiandiaqnot
Every word from Proto-Austronesian *apa →Every word from Proto-Malayic apa →Every word from Malay apa →