Amah

Amah is a term with multiple meanings in English-language usage related to Asia. Most commonly, it denotes a female live-in domestic worker who cares for children, the elderly, and the home in Chinese-speaking communities across Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Amahs are typically migrant workers who travel from other parts of Asia or within the region to work in households under a live-in arrangement. The term is believed to derive from the Chinese 阿媽 (a-mā), a term of address for a mother or motherly elder, reflecting the caregiving role traditionally associated with amahs in family life.

In linguistic contexts, ammah may also appear as “amah” in Southeast Asian usage to mean grandmother or an older woman in some dialects, though this usage varies by community. In English-language discourse, ammah most often refers to the caregiver role in domestic service rather than the general grandmother sense.

Historically and in contemporary times, amahs have played an important role in household economies and labor migration in parts of Asia. Their work has spurred policy discussions on migrant domestic workers, visa sponsorship, labor rights, and protections, as well as broader debates about family caregiving and gender labor.