PETALING JAYA: British singer-songwriter Dua Lipa has been mocked by Malaysians on social media after she used the word "babi" to refer to her father.

However, the word "babi" in Albanian, where her parents are from, actually means "father".

Lipa posted a birthday message to her father on Instagram with the caption, "Happy Birthday babi, I wish I was home to give you a big hug and kiss."

However, the 23-year-old changed the caption on her Instagram post to "Happy Birthday dad" after being mocked over the use of "babi" which means pig in Bahasa Malaysia.

The 23-year-old is born to Albanian parents from Kosovo.

Other Malaysians came to the defence of Dua Lipa, urging her not to change the way she addressed her father.

"You should not change the way you called your dad in the caption @dualipa ! It's your right, I'm so embarrassed to be Malaysian now," Instagram user nnblhzpr said.

Another Instagram user, ainmia1, said she was embarrassed by Malaysians who were disrespectful towards Dua Lipa.

"Dua Lipa I'm so sorry for what happened. There are some people in this world who don't know how to respect others. We love you. You don't have to change your language because it's beautiful," she said, urging her to ignore any insults.

The singer took the music industry by storm in 2017 with her hit New Rules that went to No. 1 in Britain.

Dua Lipa also won the British Female Solo Artist and British Breakthrough Act at the BRIT Awards.

She is scheduled to perform in her Self-Titled Tour in Kuala Lumpur on May 3.