The Ah- diminutive is used more often in Taiwan and in southern Chinese provinces than in the northern provinces of China. So there are regional linguistic differences at play, for sure.
The Mainland tends to use different diminutives, like Xiao- or Lao-, which you will be more familiar with if you watch Mainland C-dramas.
I'm not sure if there's a different level of familiarity with diminutive usage, but they can turn into nicknames to the point where one may not necessarily have to be close to them to know the common usage of the name?
Like you don't have to be close to a person to call him "Mike" instead of "Michael" if everybody else calls him "Mike."
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Date: 8 May 2020 18:10 (UTC)The Mainland tends to use different diminutives, like Xiao- or Lao-, which you will be more familiar with if you watch Mainland C-dramas.
I'm not sure if there's a different level of familiarity with diminutive usage, but they can turn into nicknames to the point where one may not necessarily have to be close to them to know the common usage of the name?
Like you don't have to be close to a person to call him "Mike" instead of "Michael" if everybody else calls him "Mike."