definition of limpeh

Interesting topic, here's my say:

Being Hokkien myself, I've actually grown up using that word without really delving into its meaning. It's a crude expression which is commonly used to refer to oneself (in place of the more proper and polite "wa").

Example #1:
"Eh Ray, why didn't you come last night?"
"Haiya, limpeh sibeh tired leh" (trans. I was very tired)

In our local context, "limpeh" literally means "my father", although The Coxford Singlish Dictionary, the only other reference I found on the web says otherwise.

Now a gwai lo might ask, "Good heavens! Why does one refer to one's father when one is speaking about himself?" Ah it's because we Hokkiens, and the rest of the Chinese race for that matter, are a very family oriented bunch of people; we make it a habit to always include family members like mothers (most popular), sisters, grandfathers etc. in our conversations. But that's a subject for another topic.

Example #2:
"Mai siao, limpeh really tired last night." (trans. Don't joke, I was really tired last night)

It is similar in pronunciation for both Northern and Southern variants of Hokkien found in Malaysia, and is commonly overheard amongst groups of old Chinese men at coffeeshops or taxi stands.

One thing to note though is that it's usually used in the company of other males to exhibit one's masculinity but rarely, if never, used in the presence of the opposite sex.

Example #3:
"Ma eh chee bai! Ah Chai hor lang phak? Lu tan wa, limpeh tong kim lai." (trans. Mother's pussy! Ah Chai got beaten up? You wait for me, I'm coming now)
[calls girlfriend]
"Er hello, lahling ar, tonite we cannot go Thai Club, wa eh fren got problem, wa lang ki settle." (trans. Darling, we can't go out to Thai Club tonight, my friend has got a problem, we are going to settle it)

For more interesting Hokkien words, checkout TV Smith's The Hokkiens