kerana (Malay)
Where does "kerana" come from?
The Malay word 'kerana' traces its origins back to the ancient Proto-Indo-European root 'kʷer-', meaning 'to do' or 'to shape.' This root evolved into the Sanskrit word 'kāraṇa,' meaning 'cause' or 'reason,' before being adopted into Malay. It remains a fundamental conjunction used to explain the reason behind an action.
Full etymology tree
- kerana (Malay), 'because'
- borrowed कारण (kāraṇa) (Sanskrit), 'cause, reason, factor'
- derived करण (káraṇa) (Sanskrit), 'doing, making, effecting, causing'
- inherited *kar- (Proto-Indo-Aryan)
- inherited *kar- (Proto-Indo-Iranian)
- inherited *kʷer- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to do'
- inherited *kar- (Proto-Indo-Iranian)
- inherited *kar- (Proto-Indo-Aryan)
- suffix -अन (-ana) (Sanskrit), 'forms masculine agent nouns'
- derived करण (káraṇa) (Sanskrit), 'doing, making, effecting, causing'
- borrowed कारण (kāraṇa) (Sanskrit), 'cause, reason, factor'
Ancestors
- कारण (Sanskrit)
Cognates and doublets
- karena (Indonesian)
- kerani (Malay)
Updated July 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris