words about eye and glasses

[English4everyone]

Here in this thred I don't know how to explain what I need!
I would like to know about the words that we can use to speak about regular glasses.
For example, my eyes are very very weak, so I have to wear ..................... . Or how do you ask about someone's glasses? Do you say "How weak are your eyes?"
Thanks for your replies. I think it's difficult to understand my post.

 

[Rover_KE]

Au contraire – it's crystal clear.

In BE we say 'I have to wear glasses'. More formally '...spectacles'; informally 'specs'. AE speakers say it differently; they'll answer for themselves when they get up later.

'Do you need to wear your glasses all the time?' is about as much as I'd want to know about the condition of somebody's eyesight.

Rover

 

[English4everyone]

Ok, thanks.
But How do you ask about the number / measurement of somebody's eyse?

P.S. I'm not sure about the underlined words above.

 

[Rover_KE]

Only an optician or an oculist would be that interested in a person's vision.

They'd probably say 'Let's have a look at your last optical report and prescription'.

Rover

 

[JMurray]

When I'm discussing eyesight problems with somebody, other than an optician as Rover has mentioned, about the most technical question I might ask is, "Are you short-sighted or long-sighted?".
A long-sighted person can see things in the distance clearly but does not have good vision for things that are close, and so might need glasses to read a book for example. A short-sighted person might be able to read a book without glasses but cannot see clearly things that are at a distance, and so might need glasses for driving.

not a teacher

 

[charliedeut]

Only an optician or an oculist would be that interested in a person's vision.

Yoou mean apart from that person's closest relatives? ;-) I can imagine my wife, for instance, asking me about the technical details if I came home from a visit to the optician/oculist

 

[Raymott]

Here in this thred I don't know how to explain what I need!
I would like to know about the words that we can use to speak about regular glasses.
For example, my eyes are very very weak, so I have to wear ..................... . Or how do you ask about someone's glasses? Do you say "How weak are your eyes?"
Thanks for your replies. I think it's difficult to understand my post.

Yes, glasses or spectacles.
You could look up "myopia, hypermetropia, amblyopia", which many people interested in vision would half-understand. They're the most common reason for the need for glasses.

PS: I guess you've heard of the optometrist who fell into a vat of molten glass and made a spectacle of himself?

 

[SoothingDave]

In AmE, it is "near sighted" and "far sighted." I can't imagine anyone except an optician having any interest in the specifications of one's eyeglasses.

People might want to know how good your vision is in terms of 20/x, where 20/20 is "perfect" vision. If you're 20/300 then you can see at 20 feet what a "normal" person can see at 300. This applies to nearsightedness only.

 

[English4everyone]

In AmE, it is "near sighted" and "far sighted." I can't imagine anyone except an optician having any interest in the specifications of one's eyeglasses.

People might want to know how good your vision is in terms of 20/x, where 20/20 is "perfect" vision. If you're 20/300 then you can see at 20 feet what a "normal" person can see at 300. This applies to nearsightedness only.

Thanks a million. I think - and I hope - this is what I have been looking for. :up:
Yes, it might be strange if you see someone looking for these technical words, but I need them. And I'm not an optician.
Would you please give me some more information about the second part of your post? I mean the numbers. Could you please explain these numbers? How should we read / say them? Where can I find more information about it?
Thanks again.

 

[SoothingDave]

Visual acuity - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

All you could want to know about "visual acuity" and how it is measured. The metric equivalent to 20/20 vision is 6/6 (6 meters being the baseline rather than 20 feet).

I wonder which the Brits use, or if this entire thing is just an American thing.

The numbers would be spoken as "twenty twenty vision" or "twenty two hundred."

 

[Tdol]

We use 20/20, though officially we have changed to the metric system. I wasn't even aware that this was an imperial measure. It's possible that specialists have changed over, but I have never heard 6/6 used.