yǎn jìng
(lunettes)
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我需要一副眼镜。
wǒ xūyào yī fù yǎnjìng.
I need a pair of glasses.
你戴眼镜吗？
nǐ dài yǎnjìng ma?
Do you wear glasses?
我的眼镜坏了。
wǒ de yǎnjìng huài le.
My glasses are broken.
眼镜儿 (yǎnjìngr)
glasses
镜框 (jìngkuàng)
spectacles
隐形眼镜 (yǐnxíng yǎnjìng)
contact lenses
太阳镜 (tàiyáng jìng)
sunglasses
The Chinese word for eyeglasses, 眼镜 (yǎnjìng), is a compound of two characters: 眼 (yǎn), meaning "eye", and 镜 (jìng), meaning "mirror" or "lens". The term "eyeglasses" is a relatively recent invention, dating back only to the 13th century. Before that, people used simple magnifying glasses to correct their vision. The earliest known eyeglasses were made in Italy in the late 13th century, and they quickly spread to other parts of Europe. Eyeglasses were introduced to China in the 16th century by European missionaries, and they quickly became popular among the upper classes. The term 眼镜 was first used in Chinese in the 17th century, and it has been in use ever since.
