banh mi

Where does the word "banh mi" come from? It comes from French pain de mie, passing through Vietnamese before entering English (2000s).

Banh mi’s story begins in French: pain de mie meant “soft white bread.” Literally "crumb bread", a soft white loaf introduced during French colonization. By 1900s, the word had taken hold in Vietnamese as banh mi. Adapted the French loaf into a distinctive Vietnamese sandwich. It reached English by 2000s as banh mi. The French colonial baguette became a Vietnamese street sandwich in Saigon in the 1950s. Today, banh mi means a Vietnamese sandwich served on a baguette, filled with meat and vegetables.

1. Stage 1 · French · 1800s pain de mie "soft white bread", literally "crumb bread", a soft white loaf introduced during French colonization.
2. Stage 2 · Vietnamese · 1900s banh mi "bread; a Vietnamese sandwich", adapted the French loaf into a distinctive Vietnamese sandwich.
3. Stage 3 · English · 2000s banh mi "a Vietnamese sandwich on a baguette", the French colonial baguette became a Vietnamese street sandwich in Saigon in the 1950s.