Dictionary

ah pui en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˌɑː(˨)ˈpui(˨˦)/ (Singapore)

Etymology

From Hokkien 阿肥 (a-pûi), from 阿 (a, “particle placed before names to express familiarity”) + 肥 (pûi, “fat”).

Meanings

1. (Singapore, derogatory, informal) fatty (a fat person)
   • Lim was also called Ah Pui ("fatty" in Hokkien) by his friends, encouraging him to do something about how others perceived him. 2016 November 14, The New Paper, Singapore:
   • Melinda, diagnosed with anorexia and bulimia, remembered her uncle and aunt calling her “Ah Pui”- meaning “stupid, fat girl”. 2009, Esther Rothblum, Sondra Solovay, The Fat Studies Reader, page 131:
   • She treated the cries of “Ah pui ah!” and “Fatty bombom!” as cosmic background radiation, and learned to drift quietly into sharp imaginings when her classmates babbled in the impassably alien tones of Mandarin as though she was not there. 2014, Jolene Tan, A certain exposure:
   • The comic duo [Wang Sha and Ye Feng] were Singapore’s own Laurel and Hardy, and their Ah Pui and Ah San (The Fat and the Thin) show was enjoyed by young and old alike. 1998 January 19, The Straits Times, Singapore:

Forms

Relateds

Ah Beng · Ah Seng · Ah Long · Ah Huay · Ah Lian · ah kua · Ah Tiong