तीन (Hindi)
Where does "तीन" come from?
The Hindi word 'teen' (तीन) has ancient roots that tie it to many other languages, including English. It evolved from the Proto-Indo-European *tréyes through Sanskrit and Sauraseni Prakrit before becoming the Old Hindi 'tīni'. As a cousin to the English word 'three', it reflects a shared linguistic history stretching back thousands of years across the Indo-European family.
Full etymology tree
- तीन (tīn) (Hindi), 'three (3)'
- inherited तीनि (tīni) (Old Hindi), 'three'
- inherited 𑀢𑀺𑀡𑁆𑀡𑀺 (tiṇṇi) (Sauraseni Prakrit)
- inherited 𑀢𑀺𑀁𑀦𑀺 (tiṃni) (Ashokan Prakrit), 'three'
- inherited त्रीणि (trī́ṇi) (Sanskrit), 'neuter nominative/accusative/vocative plural of त्रि (trí, “three”)'
- derived त्रि (trí) (Sanskrit), 'three'
- inherited *tráyas (Proto-Indo-Aryan)
- inherited *tráyas (Proto-Indo-Iranian), 'three'
- inherited *tréyes (Proto-Indo-European), 'three'
- inherited *tráyas (Proto-Indo-Iranian), 'three'
- inherited *tráyas (Proto-Indo-Aryan)
- derived त्रि (trí) (Sanskrit), 'three'
- inherited त्रीणि (trī́ṇi) (Sanskrit), 'neuter nominative/accusative/vocative plural of त्रि (trí, “three”)'
- inherited 𑀢𑀺𑀁𑀦𑀺 (tiṃni) (Ashokan Prakrit), 'three'
- inherited 𑀢𑀺𑀡𑁆𑀡𑀺 (tiṇṇi) (Sauraseni Prakrit)
- inherited तीनि (tīni) (Old Hindi), 'three'
Ancestors
- तीनि (Old Hindi)
- 𑀢𑀺𑀡𑁆𑀡𑀺 (Prakrit)
- त्रि (Sanskrit)
- *tráyas (Proto-Indo-Iranian)
- *tréyes (Proto-Indo-European)
Cognates and doublets
- তিন (Bengali)
- three (English)
- ત્રણ (Gujarati)
- तीन (Marathi)
- ਤਿੰਨ (Punjabi)
Updated July 2026
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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris