Where does “ja” come from?

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

Ancestry of “ja”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old High Germanjā—
2Proto-West Germanicjāyes; thus, so
3Proto-Germanicjayes; thus, so
4Proto-Indo-Europeanyēalready

Words derived from “ja”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European yē →Every word from Proto-Germanic ja →Every word from Proto-West Germanic jā →