Chinese Name Calling

Went to a gathering with the relatives yesterday, all 40 of them. What can I say, my grandad was a busy man (or a bored man, depending on how you look at it). Now, socialising with The Siews is always a chore to me, not only because there are too many faces to remember but also because I have to address each of them in Chinese.

See in our custom, it is rude to address all your relatives as Uncle/Auntie. Each generation and each gender has a specific reference; oldest uncle we call Tai Pak Yeh, father's sister we call Ah Ku, father's brother we call Ah Sok and so on.

To some extent, it can get a bit confusing:


And people wonder why I try to avoid gatherings with the relatives.