Why do elderly people like to call us “Ah “? Here’s why

It’s a nickname we are embarrassed by when we are cool and hip teenagers, yet grow to love the older we get. But seriously, what’s with the nicknames? Turns out, it’s more than a nickname. In fact, one of the reasons why they call you Ah <Name> may surprise you.

They can’t pronounce your name
The first time an elderly person meets the kid is when they figure out a nickname for him/her. Especially in the modern days when so many of us go by our English names, Ah <Name> is the short form for them, not necessarily with your Chinese names. For example, there is no “sius” in the Chinese pronunciation, so Aloysius is just Ah Loy.

Telling one kid from the other
For the traditional families, the children may have the same middle character, Wei Jie, Wei Jin, Wei Shen, where the middle character is chosen according to the book of genealogy. The more kids there are, the confused the elderly people would get. So they omit the middle character and simply call you by the word that is different – Ah Jie, Ah Jin, Ah Shen.

Term of affection
Just like how couples call each other honey and baby, Ah <Name> is a method the elderly uses to show affection for us. In some cases, the nickname may be exclusive for him/her and we find ourselves with a number of nicknames. It’s almost like a passcode, so you know exactly who is calling you.

And the reason why you love the name the older you get? It tends to remind you of the good old days when you were a kid and had the love of the elders around you, which always explains why people love their grandparents more as they get older. Nothing compares to how they call you Ah <Name> with their dialect accent. And when your parents call you that, it’s simply time for dinner… Or that you’re in for a nagging session! (Calling you by your actual name would be one level higher – they are going to whack you!)

Remembering your trait
Sometimes Ah <Names> don’t exactly go by your name but rather, your… special traits. Those who were born chubby may be haunted with Ah <Bui> and those tanned may remember being called Ah <Ou> (Dialect for dark). As much as we may dislike it, elderly who are bad with names would find that useful, and know who you are as soon as they see you.

Chinese language habit
The final reason as of why they call you Ah <Name> may surprise many. The Chinese language has the tendency to create names and nouns in even numbers. So you’d notice that in terms like teacher (Lao Shi), rat (Lao Shu), dog (Xiao Gou) and cat (Xiao Mao), the words Lao and Xiao don’t actually mean anything. The extra word is only added because we are used to even-number phrases.

Likewise, you’d realize that you hardly call anyone by their Chinese name in just one word, which is where Ah <Name> comes in handy when there’s just one word in their name you use!

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