ăn phở

Vietnamese

Etymology

ăn (“to eat”) +‎ phở (“pho”).

Sense 2 stems from the belief that rice (cơm) is a primary meal, while noodles (phở) are something else or “on the side”.

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ʔan˧˧ fəː˧˩]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ʔaŋ˧˧ fəː˧˨]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [ʔaŋ˧˧ fəː˨˩˦]

Verb

ăn phở

1. (literally) to eat pho (Vietnamese noodle soup)
2. (figurative, colloquial, usually of a man) to have an affair

   Antonym: ăn cơm