Ah Beng


Ah Beng is a stereotype applied to a certain group of young Chinese men in Southeast Asia, particularly Singapore and Malaysia, who display common characteristics such as having dyed hair, wearing loud fashion and being less educated. The female equivalent of an Ah Beng is an Ah Lian.
A stereotypical Ah Beng would be someone who is not highly educated, is loud and unsophisticated, and operates within secret societies and street gangs. Ah Lians on the other hand are regarded as bimbos, and are stereotyped as anti-intellectual, superficial, materialistic, and.
Outside of Southeast Asia, in English-speaking countries, the equivalent of an Ah Beng would be Australia's Bogans, US's Rednecks and Britain's Chavs.

Etymology

Ah Beng comes from the romanization of the Hokkien pronunciation of 阿明. The character "" is commonly used in the names of Chinese males in the region, thus the term "Ah Beng" alludes to their commonness. In the Cantonese-speaking parts of Malaysia and Singapore, Ah Beng is also known as lala zai. 'Lala' has no actual meaning in itself, while 'zai' means 'boy'. 'Lala zai' refers to individuals who speak Manglish and possess a strong preference for gaudy fashions or hairstyles.

In popular culture

Ah Bengs have been featured in several Singaporean films, including:
The stereotypical Ah Beng was the title character in the television series Phua Chu Kang Pte Ltd, played by Gurmit Singh. In the show, Chu Kang's brother, Phua Chu Beng, is humorously nicknamed Ah Beng, despite being an articulate, educated architect, the complete antithesis of an Ah Beng.

In other countries