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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
Roger Naylor, AZCentral.com, 6 Dec. 2025
The stretch along Stockton Avenue, colloquially known as Little Saigon, has no shortage of pho joints.
—Sean Timberlake, Sacbee.com, 27 Nov. 2025
Her love of New Orleans and its robust Vietnamese community has inspired her to use leftover Thanksgiving turkey meat and bones to make a twist on pho—a deeply savory Vietnamese soup that gets its comforting flavor from broth fortified with fresh ginger, garlic, cinnamon, star anise, and cloves.
—Josh Miller, Southern Living, 24 Nov. 2025
Dine on Thai curries, pho, and, of course, Japanese dishes like tuna tataki and seafood ramen.
—Lydia Price, Travel + Leisure, 17 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pho
Cite this Entry
“Pho.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pho. Accessed 13 Dec. 2025.
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