ah neh

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

A semantic extension from Tamil அண்ணன் (aṇṇaṉ, “elder brother”).

Pronunciation

(Singapore) IPA^(key): /ˌɑ ˈne/

Noun

ah neh (plural ah nehs)

(Singapore, colloquial, slang, derogatory, ethnic slur) An Indian man, especially a migrant worker.
- 2001 8 August, Leo, soc.culture.singapore
  Blame the Ah-Neh race again, just like what they did to the former president who is now in Canada.
- 2006 August 24, Susan Ong, pesspgde_05/06_yr2:
  some 'ah-neh' stole my hp! not tt i'm a racist but i saw this indian or dunno bhangra walking near me on the way to the mrt stn and din realise tt i lost my hp till i got on the train at jurong east to look for it.
- 2010 October 19, The Cynic, soc.culture.singapore:
  Well, the locals who contributed to the current prosperity of Singapore, who sacrificed their most productive years to serve the army, who allowed their kampong homes to be acquired by the government, etc etc, are being slowly sidelined in favor of the foreigners -- ah nehs, ah bengs, ah pinoys and others.
- 2011 November 11, Hiphiphoray, MyCarForum:
  My SIL had the POLICE visiting her home bcos of ah neh wash. Apparently the ah neh is an overstayer. And the police track all the ah neh's HP contacts and got to her house. Luckily BIL was clever and said they were enquiring only but never engage ah neh service.
- 2013 31 January, ColdBlooded, soc.culture.singapore
  But what will happen when these ahnehs flee Singapore when they are asked to do NS?
- 2013 March 10, JAFCO, AsiaOne Forum:
  We dont owe the ah neh a career or life here. They come in with their discriminatory practices and think the sinkies owe them these privileges.
- 2015, deuter72, REDDIT:
  Oh, and if you hear people (like your colleagues for example) refer to "that ah neh", they could be referring to you. It's a derogatory term.
- 2015 May 11, Farhan, All Singapore Stuff:
  "Upsize or not?" The crew member asked, but the Ah neh still give that blur look, so the crew member decide for him.