pho
noun
ˈfə 
ˈfō
: a soup made of beef or chicken broth and rice noodles
Did you know?
Pho, which first appeared in print in English in 1935, was borrowed from a Vietnamese word which was spelled phở. English speakers replaced the vowel with "o" but preserved the pronunciation as "fuh," rather than "foh." Another Vietnamese food word that was borrowed into English is nuoc mam, which refers to a type of fish sauce that is fermented in brine. In that case as well, the original Vietnamese word had accent marks that were lost on the journey into English. Nuoc mam was recorded in English just a few years before pho arrived.
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web The tasting menu is eight courses: six items from the menu, a mini pho, and dessert. 
Chelsea Davis, Forbes, 25 Aug. 2022 Last year, a white food blogger was criticized for mislabeling a noodle dish as the Vietnamese noodle dish pho. Kalhan Rosenblatt, NBC News, 28 July 2022 My break was spent in Vietnam at the beach, reading, writing and eating pho. Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 27 June 2022 The spicy veggie pho at Sunflower Garden Vietnamese includes chunks of king oyster mushrooms and plenty of crunchy and juicy toppings. New York Times, 23 May 2022 Pad Thai, char kway teow and Vietnamese pho are mostly made with a thinner version of flat rice noodles (the width of a fettuccine noodle). Maggie Hiufu Wong, CNN, 26 Apr. 2022 By Night, the late-night version of one of the city’s favorite Vietnamese spots, serves its classic pho until well past dinner time. Abigail Rosenthal, Chron, 4 Mar. 2022 The Vietnamese noodle house does indeed make traditional pho, plus a pricier dry-aged New York beef noodle soup ($21.50). Louisa Chu, chicagotribune.com, 11 Mar. 2022 There’s plenty of Viet-Cajun boil options in Houston, but LA also offers a Vietnamese dish that’s made with crawfish instead of the traditional beef: the restaurant’s super-popular crawfish pho. Emma Balter, Chron, 10 Mar. 2022 See More
Chelsea Davis, Forbes, 25 Aug. 2022 Last year, a white food blogger was criticized for mislabeling a noodle dish as the Vietnamese noodle dish pho. Kalhan Rosenblatt, NBC News, 28 July 2022 My break was spent in Vietnam at the beach, reading, writing and eating pho. Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 27 June 2022 The spicy veggie pho at Sunflower Garden Vietnamese includes chunks of king oyster mushrooms and plenty of crunchy and juicy toppings. New York Times, 23 May 2022 Pad Thai, char kway teow and Vietnamese pho are mostly made with a thinner version of flat rice noodles (the width of a fettuccine noodle). Maggie Hiufu Wong, CNN, 26 Apr. 2022 By Night, the late-night version of one of the city’s favorite Vietnamese spots, serves its classic pho until well past dinner time. Abigail Rosenthal, Chron, 4 Mar. 2022 The Vietnamese noodle house does indeed make traditional pho, plus a pricier dry-aged New York beef noodle soup ($21.50). Louisa Chu, chicagotribune.com, 11 Mar. 2022 There’s plenty of Viet-Cajun boil options in Houston, but LA also offers a Vietnamese dish that’s made with crawfish instead of the traditional beef: the restaurant’s super-popular crawfish pho. Emma Balter, Chron, 10 Mar. 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
borrowed from Vietnamese phở
First Known Use
1935, in the meaning defined above
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