mì tôm

Vietnamese

Etymology

From mì (“noodles”) +‎ tôm (“shrimp”), so called because early instant noodles were supposedly shrimp-flavored (the packages were also illustrated with shrimp patterns).

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [mi˨˩ tom˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [mɪj˦˩ tom˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [mɪj˨˩ tom˧˧]

Noun

mì tôm

1. (literal) shrimp-flavored instant noodles
2. (by extension) Synonym of mì ăn liền (“instant noodles”)