SuttaCentral
I’m not sure why the word ambho purisa is translated as ‘worthy man’ (Bhante @Sujato) and ‘good man’ (Bhikkhu Bodhi) in AN3.36. Is it because tvaṁ is used to refer to a singular person?
My cultural background makes me think that this person (who did all the bad stuff) should not be called a ‘worthy one’. Also, in our culture, King of the Hell would not address a normal person with high respect.
I think that it’s just a turn of phrase/ phrase of exclamation.
Parajika 3 bu-pj3 came to mind when I saw your subject. Ajahn Brahmali has it as ‘my friend’, which I take to be the gender inclusive version of the phrase ‘(my) Man!’
I think that in the case of AN3.36
‘Friend! Did it not occur to you…’
or the Aussie
‘Mate! Didn’t it occur to you…?’
might be what it means.
Yes, thanks for the question, and to endorse Ven Pasanna’s response. I think I’ve mistranslated it sometimes, as I took it as a variant of the respectful bho. But it seems to be a distinct particle of interjection. Normally it’s used in ambho purisa, “my man!”, but also by itself in the sense, “hey now”, “look here”, etc. I’ve gone through the texts and hopefully corrected all instances.
Sorry I wrote the last message very quickly as I had to go for a talk!
But just picking up what Ven Pasanna noted, I tend to agree that “my friend” is probably better than “my man”. The latter is more literal, but, as well as being gender neutral, “my friend” is, I think, more colloquial. Like I can imagine myself saying it, but i think only an English toff would say “my man”. It’s basically a way of addressing someone you don’t know, which is polite but doesn’t make any assumptions about status.
I think that just ‘Friend!’ could be clearer as it doesn’t make as much assumption about closeness. I would approach someone in the street with ‘Friend’ but not ‘My friend’ but generally just go with ‘kind/good person’ which loops back to Ven. Bodhi’s choice.
As an American, I’d maybe reach for “Yo buddy” or “Hey man” which can be close or not depending on tone. 
The most literal translation yet!
That’s how I gloss it in my head when chanting the Pātimokkha:
"Ambho purisa, kiṁ tuyhiminā pāpakena dujjīvitena? Mataṁ te jīvitā seyyo!"ti
“Hey man, what is it to you, this terrible, tough life? Death for you [would be] better than life!”
I love ‘man’ as a phrase of exclamation and I use it way too often.
However, on behalf of the women and gender-diverse people in my life who flinch when I use it, probably not the right translation for SC
That’s disturbingly tempting.
Well, if the shoe fits…