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.

Examples of pho in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Fans of pho and other Vietnamese fare will enjoy more hours to get their hands on their favorite dishes, as the MoonDog kitchen is now open till midnight six days a week. —Lennie Omalza, The Courier-Journal, 2 July 2025

The pho is a rich noodle soup of rice vermicelli cooked for 20 hours with cilantro, onions and scallions. —Steve Forbes, Forbes.com, 29 May 2025

Three containers of pho broth were stored on the floor of a walk-in cooler. —Camila Pedrosa, Sacramento Bee, 14 Mar. 2025

Steaming bowls of pho come seasoned with onion and ginger, optionally spiked with chile and lime. —Florence Fabricant, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Vietnamese phở

First Known Use

1935, in the meaning defined above

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