tujuh (Indonesian)
Where does "tujuh" come from?
The Indonesian word "tujuh," meaning seven, traces back to the Proto-Austronesian term *tuzuq, which originally meant "to point." The shift in meaning likely reflects the ancient practice of using the index finger to count, essentially identifying the number seven as the "pointing" finger. This word is a linguistic sibling to "tunjuk," another Indonesian word that directly preserves the action of pointing.
Full etymology tree
- tujuh (Indonesian), 'seven'
- inherited tujuh (Malay), 'seven'
- inherited *tujuh (Proto-Malayic), 'seven'
- inherited *tuzuq (Proto-Austronesian), 'to point at, point out; give directions'
- inherited *tujuh (Proto-Malayic), 'seven'
- inherited tujuh (Malay), 'seven'
Ancestors
- tujuh (Malay)
- *tujuh (Proto-Malayic)
- *tuzuq (Proto-Malayo-Polynesian)
- *tuzuq (Proto-Austronesian)
Cognates and doublets
- tunjuk (Indonesian)
Updated July 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris