occhiali da sole
/okˈkja.li da ˈso.le/word by word
In Italian, 'shades' is translated as occhiali da sole.
Meaning: sunglasses (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of occhiali (glasses) and da sole (for sun).
Which one should you use?
To distinguish from sunglasses, use occhiali da vista (glasses for sight) for prescription eyewear. Le gradazioni is a formal way to say shades in Italian, referring to gradations or variations in shades.
How does it change in a sentence?
Because occhiali is a plural noun, you use un paio di to specify a single pair (un paio di occhiali da sole). The plural noun occhiali requires the plural masculine article gli when used with the definite article (gli occhiali da sole).
How do you pronounce it?
The word has 5 syllables with the stress on the 2nd syllable: /okˈkja.li da ˈso.le/.
Did you know?
- In Italy, wearing occhiali da sole indoors or during a funeral can be seen as a sign of coldness or an attempt to hide one's emotions.
- The word sole is a cognate of the Hindi word सूर्य (sūrya) and the Russian word со́лнце (sólnce). These words all share a common ancestor from the Proto-Indo-European root for the sun.
- Italy is one of the world's leading producers of occhiali da sole, with many luxury brands headquartered in the Veneto region.
Examples in context
- Tom si mise un paio di occhiali da sole.Tom put on a pair of shades.This sentence is useful for showing how to use the phrase occhiali da sole when describing someone putting on a pair of shades.Tatoeba #11701732 by WM3DAS, translation #3155837 by CK
- L'artista ha utilizzato diverse sfumature di blu nelle sue opere.The artist used various shades of blue in his works.
- Dove sono i miei occhiali da sole?Where are my sunglasses?
- Ti servono gli occhiali da sole per la spiaggia?Do you need sunglasses for the beach?
- 2 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Alessandro and Sofia are getting ready to go outside.
- AlessandroSofia, hai visto i miei occhiali da sole?Sofia, have you seen my sunglasses?
- SofiaSì, sono sul tavolo.Yes, they are on the table.
- AlessandroGrazie, oggi c'è un sole fortissimo.Thanks, the sun is very strong today.
- SofiaÈ vero, metti subito gli occhiali.It's true, put your shades on right away.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “shades” translations and entries occhiali da sole, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (occhiali, da, sole) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries da, occhiali, sole, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
