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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
Jessica Guynn, USA TODAY, 28 Mar. 2024
This attention to detail shows up at Vigilante in the form of dishes like the Pho-Ken Noodle Soup, a fusion of pho and chicken noodle soup, which takes days to prepare.
—Detroit Free Press, 6 Mar. 2024
Inspectors found a total of 57 live German cockroaches and 18 dead roaches throughout the pho restaurant on Tuesday, according to the report.
—Jacqueline Pinedo, Sacramento Bee, 22 Mar. 2024
Kenny opted to bring his Vietnamese heritage to the forefront, amping up his chicken with pho seasoning.
—Rachel Bernhard, Journal Sentinel, 20 Mar. 2024
Dishes include birria pho, sriracha-lime elote, short ribs pho, Vietnamese beef carpaccio and the Peruvian beef dish lomo saltado.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Mar. 2024
The attraction was Tran’s menu, an extensive survey of Vietnamese home-style cooking, including pho, hot pots, papaya salad, spring rolls, steamed rice crepes and dozens of other dishes.
—Tim Carman, Washington Post, 23 Feb. 2024
As for the pho, each choice comes with bean sprouts, basil, jalapenos and lime on the side, plus green onions, yellow onions and cilantro garnish.
—Heidi Finley, Charlotte Observer, 6 Feb. 2024
The town center has grown up, too, into a hip outpost that offers pho and mezcal cocktails.
—Gloria Liu, Travel + Leisure, 29 Nov. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pho.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near pho
Cite this Entry
“Pho.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pho. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
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