眼鏡

See also: 眼镜

Chinese

		eye	mirror; lens
trad. (眼鏡)		眼	鏡
simp. (眼镜)		眼	镜

Etymology

Attested in the late Ming Dynasty:

靉靆即眼鏡。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

叆叇即眼镜。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: late Ming Dynasty, 張自烈, 正字通

Àidài jí yǎnjìng. [Pinyin]

靉靆 (àidài, “glasses”) is equal to 眼鏡 (yǎnjìng, “glasses”).

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Standard)
(Pinyin): yǎnjìng
(Zhuyin): ㄧㄢˇ ㄐㄧㄥˋ
(Chengdu, SP): yan³ jin⁴
Cantonese (Jyutping): ngaan⁵ geng^3-2, ngaan⁵ geng³
Hakka
(Sixian, PFS): ngián-kiang
(Meixian, Guangdong): ngian³ giang⁴
Jin (Wiktionary): nie² jing³
Min Dong (BUC): ngiāng-giáng
Min Nan (POJ): gán-kiàⁿ
Wu (Wiktionary): nge jin (T3)

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: yǎnjìng
  - Zhuyin: ㄧㄢˇ ㄐㄧㄥˋ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: yǎnjìng
  - Wade–Giles: yen³-ching⁴
  - Yale: yǎn-jìng
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: yeanjinq
  - Palladius: яньцзин (janʹczin)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /jɛn²¹⁴⁻²¹¹ t͡ɕiŋ⁵¹/
- (Standard Chinese, erhua-ed) (眼鏡兒／眼镜儿)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: yǎnjìngr
  - Zhuyin: ㄧㄢˇ ㄐㄧㄥˋㄦ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: yǎnjìngr
  - Wade–Giles: yen³-chingrh⁴
  - Yale: yǎn-jìngr
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: yeanjienql
  - Palladius: яньцзинр (janʹczinr)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /jɛn²¹⁴⁻²¹¹ t͡ɕiɤ̯̃ɻ⁵¹/
- (Chengdu)
  - Sichuanese Pinyin: yan³ jin⁴
  - Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: iangin
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /iɛn⁵³ t͡ɕin²¹³/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
  - Jyutping: ngaan⁵ geng^3-2, ngaan⁵ geng³
  - Yale: ngáahn géng, ngáahn geng
  - Cantonese Pinyin: ngaan⁵ geng^3-2, ngaan⁵ geng³
  - Guangdong Romanization: ngan⁵ géng^3-2, ngan⁵ géng³
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ŋaːn¹³ kɛːŋ³³⁻³⁵/, /ŋaːn¹³ kɛːŋ³³/
Hakka
- (Southern Sixian, incl. Meinong)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: ngián-kiang
  - Hakka Romanization System: ngian` giang
  - Hagfa Pinyim: ngian³ giang⁴
  - Sinological IPA: /ɲi̯an³¹ ki̯aŋ⁵⁵/
- (Meixian)
  - Guangdong: ngian³ giang⁴
  - Sinological IPA: /ɲian³¹ ciaŋ⁵³/
Jin
- (Taiyuan)⁺
  - Wiktionary: nie² jing³
  - Sinological IPA (old-style): /nie⁵³ t͡ɕĩŋ⁴⁵/
Min Dong
- (Fuzhou)
  - Bàng-uâ-cê: ngiāng-giáng
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ŋiaŋ³³⁻⁵⁵ ^(k-)ŋiɑŋ²¹³/
Min Nan
- (Hokkien)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: gán-kiàⁿ
  - Tâi-lô: gán-kiànn
  - Phofsit Daibuun: gafnkviax
  - IPA (Xiamen): /ɡan⁵³⁻⁴⁴ kiã²¹/
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /ɡan⁵⁵⁴⁻²⁴ kiã⁴¹/
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /ɡan⁵³⁻⁴⁴ kiã²¹/
  - IPA (Taipei): /ɡan⁵³⁻⁴⁴ kiã¹¹/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /ɡan⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ kiã²¹/
Wu
- (Shanghainese)
  - Wiktionary: nge jin (T3)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ŋe̞²² t͡ɕɪɲ⁴⁴/

Noun

眼鏡

glasses; eyeglasses; spectacles (Classifier: 副 m c)
戴眼鏡／戴眼镜 ― dài yǎnjìng ― to wear glasses
摘眼鏡／摘眼镜 ― zhāi yǎnjìng ― to take off one's glasses
除眼鏡／除眼镜 [Cantonese] ― ceoi⁴ ngaan⁵ geng^3-2 [Jyutping] ― to take off one's glasses

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 眼鏡 (“eyeglasses”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		靉靆, 眼鏡
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		眼鏡
Mandarin	Beijing	眼鏡兒, 眼鏡子
	Taiwan	眼鏡
	Tianjin	眼鏡兒
	Harbin	眼鏡兒, 鏡子
	Yantai (Muping)	眼鏡
	Jinan	眼鏡子, 鏡子
	Luoyang	眼鏡兒, 二餅兒 derogatory
	Wanrong	眼鏡, 鏡子 dated, 二柄子 derogatory
	Zhengzhou	眼鏡
	Xi'an	眼鏡
	Yinchuan	眼鏡
	Lanzhou	眼鏡子, 鏡子, 二軲轆 humorous
	Xining	眼鏡兒, 眼鏡兒子
	Ürümqi	眼鏡子, 鏡子
	Wuhan	眼鏡, 鏡子 dated, 玻璃 humorous
	Huanggang	眼鏡兒
	Chengdu	眼鏡兒, 眼鏡
	Guiyang	眼鏡
	Guilin	眼鏡
	Liuzhou	眼鏡
	Xuzhou	二餅 humorous
	Yangzhou	眼鏡子
	Nanjing	眼鏡, 二餅 humorous
	Malaysia	眼鏡
	Singapore	眼鏡
	Sokuluk (Gansu Dungan)	眼鏡子
Cantonese	Guangzhou	眼鏡, 眼枷
	Hong Kong	眼鏡
	Hong Kong (Kam Tin Weitou)	眼鏡
	Macau	眼鏡
	Guangzhou (Panyu)	眼鏡
	Guangzhou (Huashan, Huadu)	眼鏡
	Guangzhou (Conghua)	眼鏡
	Guangzhou (Zengcheng)	眼鏡
	Foshan	眼鏡
	Foshan (Shatou, Nanhai)	眼鏡
	Foshan (Shunde)	眼鏡
	Foshan (Sanshui)	眼鏡
	Foshan (Mingcheng, Gaoming)	眼鏡
	Zhongshan (Shiqi)	眼鏡
	Zhuhai (Qianshan)	眼鏡
	Zhuhai (Doumen, Shangheng Tanka)	眼鏡
	Zhuhai (Doumen)	眼鏡
	Jiangmen (Baisha)	眼鏡
	Jiangmen (Xinhui)	眼鏡
	Taishan	眼鏡
	Kaiping (Chikan)	眼鏡
	Enping (Niujiang)	眼鏡
	Heshan (Yayao)	眼鏡
	Dongguan	眼鏡, 二文錢 dated
	Shenzhen (Shajing, Bao'an)	眼鏡
	Shaoguan	眼鏡
	Yunfu	眼鏡
	Xinyi	眼鏡
	Lianjiang	眼鏡
	Nanning	眼鏡
	Wuzhou	眼鏡
	Yulin	眼鏡
	Hepu (Lianzhou)	眼鏡
	Qinzhou (Xiniujiao)	眼鏡
	Singapore (Guangfu)	眼鏡
Gan	Nanchang	眼鏡子
	Lichuan	眼鏡
	Pingxiang	眼鏡
Hakka	Meixian	目鏡, 眼鏡
	Huizhou (Huicheng Bendihua)	眼鏡
	Dongguan (Qingxi)	眼鏡
	Zhongshan (Nanlang Heshui)	眼鏡
	Wuhua (Shuizhai)	眼鏡
	Wuhua (Huacheng)	眼鏡
	Wuhua (Changbu)	眼鏡
	Wuhua (Mianyang)	眼鏡
	Conghua (Lütian)	眼鏡
	Jiexi	目鏡
	Luhe	目鏡
	Yudu	眼鏡
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	目鏡, 眼枷仔 dated, 眼枷 dated
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	目鏡, 眼鏡, 眼枷仔, 眼枷
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	目鏡
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	目鏡
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	目鏡
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	目鏡
	Luchuan (Daqiao)	眼鏡
	Sabah (Longchuan)	眼鏡
	Sungai Tapang, Batu Kawa (Hepo)	目鏡
	Singkawang	目鏡
Huizhou	Jixi	眼鏡
Jin	Taiyuan	眼鏡
	Xinzhou	眼鏡, 二餅子 derogatory
	Hohhot	眼鏡兒
Min Bei	Jian'ou	眼鏡
	Songxi	眼鏡
	Jianyang	眼鏡
Min Dong	Fuzhou	眼鏡
	Fuqing	眼鏡
	Gutian	眼鏡
	Ningde	眼鏡
	Zhouning	眼鏡
	Fuding	眼鏡
	Matsu	眼鏡
Min Nan	Xiamen	目鏡
	Quanzhou	目鏡
	Jinjiang	目鏡
	Zhangzhou	目鏡
	Kaohsiung	目鏡
	Yilan	目鏡
	Changhua (Lukang)	目鏡
	Taichung	目鏡
	Taichung (Wuqi)	目鏡
	Tainan	目鏡
	Taitung	目鏡
	Hsinchu	目鏡
	Penghu (Magong)	目鏡
	Penang (Hokkien)	目鏡
	Singapore (Hokkien)	目鏡
	Manila (Hokkien)	目鏡
	Pingnan (Shangdu)	眼鏡
	Chaozhou	目鏡
	Shantou	目鏡
	Shantou (Chenghai)	目鏡
	Shantou (Chaoyang)	目鏡
	Jieyang	目鏡
	Haifeng	目鏡
	Phnom Penh (Teochew)	目鏡
	Singapore (Teochew)	目鏡
	Leizhou	目鏡
	Wenchang	目鏡
	Haikou	目鏡
Puxian Min	Putian	目鏡
	Putian (Donghai)	目鏡
	Putian (Jiangkou)	目鏡
	Putian (Nanri)	目鏡
	Xianyou	目鏡
	Xianyou (Fengting)	目鏡
	Xianyou (Youyang)	目鏡
Zhongshan Min	Shaxi (Longdu)	眼鏡
Southern Pinghua	Nanning (Tingzi)	眼鏡, 眼枷
Northern Pinghua	Guilin (Dahe)	眼鏡子
Wu	Shanghai	眼鏡, 托力克
	Shanghai (Chongming)	眼鏡
	Suzhou	眼鏡
	Danyang	眼鏡子
	Hangzhou	眼鏡兒
	Ningbo	蔡眼
	Wenzhou	眼鏡, 眼視鏡
	Jinhua	眼鏡
Xiang	Changsha	眼鏡
	Loudi	眼鏡
	Quanzhou	眼鏡

Derived terms

大跌眼鏡／大跌眼镜 (dàdiēyǎnjìng)
太陽眼鏡／太阳眼镜 (tàiyáng yǎnjìng)
夾鼻眼鏡／夹鼻眼镜
有色眼鏡／有色眼镜 (yǒusè yǎnjìng)
木頭眼鏡／木头眼镜
無形眼鏡／无形眼镜
眼鏡娘／眼镜娘 (yǎnjìngniáng)
眼鏡子／眼镜子 (yǎnjìngzi)
眼鏡布／眼镜布
眼鏡架／眼镜架

眼鏡片／眼镜片
眼鏡猴／眼镜猴 (yǎnjìnghóu)
眼鏡王蛇／眼镜王蛇 (yǎnjìng wángshé)
眼鏡蛇／眼镜蛇 (yǎnjìngshé)
老花眼鏡／老花眼镜 (lǎohuā yǎnjìng)
變色眼鏡／变色眼镜 (biànsè yǎnjìng)
跌眼鏡／跌眼镜 (diēyǎnjìng)
跌破眼鏡／跌破眼镜
配眼鏡／配眼镜 (pèi yǎnjìng)
隱形眼鏡／隐形眼镜 (yǐnxíng yǎnjìng)

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (眼鏡):

→ Japanese: 眼(がん)鏡(きょう) (gankyō)
→ Okinawan: 眼 (がん)鏡 (ちょー) (ganchō)
→ Korean: 안경(眼鏡) (an'gyeong)

Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
眼	鏡
め Grade: 5	かね > がね Grade: 4
kun’yomi	irregular

眼鏡 (megane, gankyō): a pair of eyeglasses.

Probably originally a compound of 目 (me, “eye”) +‎ 金 (kane, “metal”, in reference to the metal used in eyeglass frames). The kane changes to gane as an instance of rendaku (連濁). The spelling is based on an apparent borrowing from Chinese, see the gankyō reading below.

Appears in texts from the late 1500s.[1]

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) めがね [méꜜgànè] (Atamadaka – [1])[2][3]
IPA^(key): [me̞ɡa̠ne̞]

Noun

眼(め)鏡(がね) • (megane)

glasses, eyeglasses

Derived terms

お眼(め)鏡(がね) (o-megane, “(honorific) judgement”)
眼(め)鏡(がね)絵(え) (megane e, “painting designed to be viewed through a special type of glasses”)
眼(め)鏡(がね)越(ご)し (meganegoshi, “seeing through glasses”)
眼(メ)鏡(ガネ)猿(ザル) (meganezaru)
眼(め)鏡(がね)違(ちが)い (megane chigai, “misjudgement”)
眼(め)鏡(がね)橋(ばし) (meganebashi)
眼(メ)鏡(ガネ)蛇(ヘビ) (megane hebi)
雪(ゆき)眼(め)鏡(がね) (yuki megane, “snow goggles”)
色(いろ)眼(め)鏡(がね) (iro megane)
蟹(かに)眼(め)鏡(がね) (kani megane, “a kind of binocular for use on a cannon”)
絡(から)繰(く)り眼(め)鏡(がね) (karakuri megane, “peep show”)
黒(くろ)眼(め)鏡(がね) (kuro megane)
水(すい)中(ちゅう)眼(め)鏡(がね) (suichū megane, “hydroscope, water glass, swimming goggles”)
伊(だ)達(て)眼(め)鏡(がね) (date megane)
塵(ちり)除(よ)け眼(め)鏡(がね) (chiriyoke megane, “protection glasses”)
遠(とお)眼(め)鏡(がね) (tōmegane)
錦(にしき)眼(め)鏡(がね) (nishiki megane, “kaleidoscope”)
覗(のぞ)き眼(め)鏡(がね) (nozoki megane, “peep show; water glass”)
箱(はこ)眼(め)鏡(がね) (hako megane, “water glass”)
鼻(はな)眼(め)鏡(がね) (hana megane, “pince-nez”)
百(ひゃく)色(いろ)眼(め)鏡(がね) (hyakuiro megane, “kaleidoscope”)
百(ひゃく)眼(め)鏡(がね) (hyaku megane, “kaleidoscope”)
股(また)眼(め)鏡(がね) (mata megane, “looking through or between one's legs”)
水(みず)眼(め)鏡(がね) (mizu megane, “swimming goggles”)
虫(むし)眼(め)鏡(がね) (mushi megane)
ロイド眼(め)鏡(がね) (roido megane, “thick round celluloid glasses”)

Idioms

眼(め)鏡(がね)が狂(くる)う (megane ga kuruu)
眼(め)鏡(がね)にかなう (megane ni kanau)

Descendants

Korean: 메가나 (megana)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
眼	鏡
がん Grade: 5	きょう Grade: 4
kan’on	goon

/ɡankjau/ → /ɡankjɔː/ → /ɡankjoː/

Probably a borrowing from written Chinese 眼鏡. Eyeglasses are first mentioned in Chinese in the 1400s as 靉靆 (aidai?), a transcription of an Arabic term. By the late Ming dynasty, eyeglasses appear in writing as 靉靆即眼鏡 (“aidai, i.e. eye-lenses”), using the compound term 眼鏡 (literally “eye + lens”). Compare modern Min Nan reading gán-kiàⁿ.

This reading appears in texts from the 1920s.[1]

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) がんきょー [gàńkyóó] (Heiban – [0])[2]
IPA^(key): [ɡã̠ŋʲkʲo̞ː]

Noun

眼(がん)鏡(きょう) • (gankyō) ^{←がんきやう (gankyau)^?}

(military, possibly archaic) glasses, eyeglasses

Usage notes

This reading was mostly used by the military.[1] The standalone term gankyō may be somewhat archaic now.

Note that there are compounds that end in 眼鏡 (gankyō) that appear to be derived from this term. However, Japanese sources parse these as deriving from other terms ending in 眼 (gan, “eye”) that are then suffixed with 鏡 (kyō, “lens”).

References

1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN

Korean

Hanja in this term
眼	鏡

Noun

眼鏡 • (an'gyeong) (hangeul 안경)

Hanja form^? of 안경 (“glasses, spectacles”).

Okinawan

Etymology 1

Cognate with mainland Japanese 眼鏡 (gankyō), ultimately deriving from written Chinese 眼鏡. Eyeglasses are first mentioned in Chinese in the 1400s as 靉靆 (aidai?), a transcription of an Arabic term. By the late Ming dynasty, eyeglasses appear in writing as 靉靆即眼鏡 (“aidai, i.e. eye-lenses”), using the compound term 眼鏡 (literally “eye + lens”). Compare modern Min Nan reading gán-kiàⁿ.

Pronunciation

(Shuri-Naha) がんちょー [gànchóó] (Heiban - [0])
IPA^(key): [ɡaɲt͡ɕoː]

Noun

眼鏡 (hiragana がんちょー, rōmaji ganchō)

eyeglasses

Derived terms

目 (みー)眼 (がん)鏡 (ちょー) (mīganchō)

Etymology 2

Compound of 眼 (mī, “eye”, also spelled 目 when used in isolation) +‎ 鏡 (kagan, “mirror, lens”).

Pronunciation

(Shuri-Naha) みいかがん [mìíkágán] (Heiban - [0])
IPA^(key): [miːkaɡaɴ]

Noun

眼鏡 (hiragana みーかがん, rōmaji mīkagan)

eyeglasses

Derived terms

遠 (とぅー)眼 (み)鏡 (かがん) (tūmikagan)
虫 (むし)眼 (み)鏡 (かがん) (mushi mikagan)

References

“がんちょー【眼鏡】” in JLect - Japonic Languages and Dialects Database Dictionary, 2019.
“みーかがん【眼鏡】” in JLect - Japonic Languages and Dialects Database Dictionary, 2019.

[KDJ-1] 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan

[DJR-2] 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[NHK-3] 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN