occhiali
/okˈkja.li/
The Italian word for glasses is occhiali.
Occhiali is the most common and general term for glasses in Italian. If you want to be more specific, you can use occhiali da vista for prescription glasses or occhiali da sole for sunglasses.
Which one should you use?
While occhiali is the general term, occhiali da vista specifically denotes prescription glasses and occhiali da sole is used for sunglasses.
How does it change in a sentence?
Although English uses the plural 'glasses' for a single pair, the Italian word occhiali is almost always used in its plural form. The singular occhiale exists but typically refers to a single lens or a single piece of eyewear. Because occhiali is a masculine plural noun, it takes the masculine plural definite article gli when used before a vowel, forming gli occhiali.
How do you pronounce it?
The word has 3 syllables and the stress is on the second syllable: /okˈkja.li/.
Did you know?
- Italy is one of the world's leading producers of occhiali, with the region of Belluno serving as the global hub for eyewear manufacturing.
- While English speakers use 'glasses' for both drinking vessels and eyewear, Italians use completely different words to avoid any confusion.
- When describing the physical frame of the glasses, Italians use the word montatura, which comes from the verb montare, meaning 'to assemble' or 'to mount'.
Examples in context
- Si mise gli occhiali.He put his glasses on.This sentence is useful for describing the action of putting on one's occhiali.Tatoeba #8140044 by Guybrush88, translation #7385822 by CH
- Pulì i suoi occhiali.He cleaned his glasses.This sentence is useful for describing the action of cleaning one's occhiali.Tatoeba #8879594 by Guybrush88, translation #7384725 by CH
- Cerco i miei occhiali.I am looking for my glasses.This sentence is useful for expressing the need to find one's occhiali.Tatoeba #971722 by Guybrush88, translation #31838 by CC
- Indosso gli occhiali da vistaI wear prescription glasses
- Vorrei comprare degli occhiali da soleI would like to buy sunglasses
- Dovrei comprare degli occhiali da soleI should buy sunglasses
- 521 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Martina and Alessandro are looking for her reading glasses at home.
- MartinaAlessandro, hai visto i miei occhiali?Alessandro, have you seen my glasses?
- AlessandroNo, Martina, non li vedo da nessuna parte.No, Martina, I don't see them anywhere.
- MartinaForse sono sul tavolo.Maybe they are on the table.
- AlessandroSì, eccoli qui, sono proprio lì.Yes, here they are, they are right there.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry occhiali, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
