noun [ C ]
also aunty UK /ˈɑːn.ti/ US /ˈæn.t̬i/ informal
an aunt
My auntie and uncle are coming to visit.
[as form of address]T hank you for the present, Auntie Louise.
indian english any female adult that you know who is older than you
Judging from your posts, I think I’m not older than you. Growing to an adult may be a good thing, though.
Hmmmm, I wouldn’t use it to indicate you were older than me, just that you’re a grown up lady.
As a term of, you know, respect.
Nothing wrong about Auntie … I just feel that i’m getting old hearing it.
Looking forward to Granny Jo
In Taiwan they use jie jie to denote respect, but it does make you feel old, like teh term señora in Spanish, instead of señorita.
Auntie I always felt it was more Hong Kong. Is it derived from some British usage?
The way I understand it is:
jie-jie/xiao-jie = a young woman of college-ish age
ah-yi = or “auntie,” woman anywhere from late twenties/early thirties right up to…
amah/obasan = a certifiably old lady. Granny age.
So auntie is really just kind of a catch-all for the period of time between noticeably young and noticeably old.
I am slowly going from auntie to amah. I can feel it.
Jie-jie is also used a lot for people in this demographic, more flattering than ah-yi.
I think women call other women jie-jie when they are within a close age range but one is a bit older.
I’ve always thought of this word “auntie” as sort of Chinese-English for people who don’t understand the word or concept of “ah-yi.”
For sure, but also used when there’s a larger age gap but they want to be polite or flattering. And of course service people will use xiaojie up to as high an age as they can.
Yes, I definitely hear it sometimes when somebody is just trying to be cute or butter up some customer.
How about Professor @tando?
I have thought jie-jie/xiao-jie = older/younger women with no age limit.
Yes, but it really depends on the speaker and the situation.
Snoopy kid, I had thought you are a bit more creative.
Well… it’s used quite often in Malaysia and Singapore…
Yep, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, all used to be British influenced. We need a Brit here.
What I never understood is why “auntie” is used here a a euphemism for a woman’s period.
Maybe because when “auntie” comes to visit, it’s inconvenient to pornicate.
Would you prefer friend to auntie? I suppose it’s a family values thing.