メガネ

• Reading: めがね
• Romaji: megane
• Kanji breakdown: 眼 (gan/me) — eye; 鏡 (kyō/kagami) — mirror, lens
• Pronunciation: /me.ɡa.ne/

Meaning

Glasses; eyeglasses; spectacles. Corrective or fashion lenses worn on the face.

Can be written as 眼鏡 in kanji, but the katakana form メガネ is most common in everyday use. Glasses are put on using かける (to hang/put on face). Common phrases include メガネをかける (to wear glasses) and メガネを外す (to take off glasses). Also used figuratively in 色メガネで見る (to see through colored glasses, meaning to be biased).

Examples

1. メガネをかけている人は先生です。 The person wearing glasses is the teacher.
2. メガネがないと何も見えません。 I can't see anything without my glasses.
3. 新しいメガネを作りました。 I got new glasses made.

Usage Guide

Context: daily life, optician, describing people

Tone: neutral

Origin & History

From the kanji 眼鏡 (me 'eye' + kagami 'mirror/lens'). The reading メガネ comes from 目金 (megane), an older word meaning 'eye metal,' referring to the lens frames. Portuguese missionaries may have introduced the first spectacles to Japan in the 16th century.

Cultural Context

Era: Edo

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal