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Glite Dictionary
Ah Pek

Ah Pek

9.9
An older man in Singapore who people often think of as friendly and familiar
  • noun
  • Slang
translation icon : Ah Pek
  • The Ah Pek at the coffee shop greeted everyone with a big smile.

Examples

  • The Ah Pek next door always shares his stories.

  • After retiring, he started dressing just like a typical Ah Pek.

  • Some people say I walk like an Ah Pek when I'm tired.

  • I saw an Ah Pek at the market today.

  • The Ah Pek at the park enjoys chatting with the younger generations.

  • Everyone loves the Ah Pek who sells delicious snacks at the corner stall.

  • My grandfather is a typical Ah Pek who enjoys sharing his life experiences.

Synonyms

pappy
vsAh Pek
  • Informal
42 8.1

An informal, loving name for a grandfather

is an informal local label for an older man with familiar affection
heynim
vsAh Pek
11 9.9

A polite word used in Korea to address an older person and show respect

is an informal local label rather than a formal respectful address

How Elderly

old person
175 1.0
Ah Pek
  • Slang
9.9
man
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

Ah Pek singular
Ah Peks plural

Morphology

Ah + Pek

This is a region-specific colloquialism of Hokkien/Chinese origin whose elements 'Ah' and 'Pek' are not standard English words and carry no predictable compositional meaning in English. Understanding 'Ah Pek' as ‘an older local man’ requires cultural/lexical knowledge rather than deduction from the parts, so a B1 learner would not be able to derive the meaning from the constituents alone.

Etymology

The nickname Ah Pek comes from a Chinese dialect. People add the small friendly word Ah before a name and Pek meant an older man, so together Ah Pek became a common name for a typical older local man. That's why it means 'an older man'.