Ayi

June 8, 2010

Ayi is the word for aunt. It is also used as a term of respect for older women. It is also used for the women who clean houses in China.

Ayis are older women who are paid to do housework. They can cook, do your laundry, get your mail, pay your bills, and clean your entire house for you. Some ayis go to houses once or twice a week. The pay rate for these women is around 10-20 kuai per hour. That’s about $1.50-$3.00 per hour. Some ayis live in their employers’ houses in a spare room. They are more like nannies. I once tutored for a Taiwanese family who had 4 live-in ayis. I’ve also tutored for a family whose ayi was fired for stealing jewelry.

For expats and wealthy Chinese people, having an ayi means never, ever having to clean. If you speak Chinese, ayis love to give you advice and chat with you. They like to say: 

“You need to wear more clothing.” 

“Aren’t you cold?” 

“You’re going to catch a cold.” 

“You are sick because you have been eating too much hot.” 

“You should be wearing slippers.” 

“You need to stop smoking.” 

“You have a cough because you eat too much meat and too much spicy food.” 

“You’re Chinese is so good!” 

“You should eat rice with your salad.” 

“You got fatter but I think you look better this way.” 

“Don’t drink Coke. It’s bad for your health.” 

“You are too skinny. You need to eat more.”