The
阿- prefix is a southern/Min/Cantonese way of forming familiar nicknames from a single character of someone's name (here
林, a very common surname or given-name char). The most internationally known
阿林 in pop music is the Taiwanese singer A-Lin (
黄丽玲, Huang Li-Ling), but the form is generic — anyone whose name contains
林 can be called this by friends and family.
