Compass directions

Compass

Words for north, east, south and west in many different languages. These four directions are known as cardinal directions or cardinal points. Directions such as northeast and southwest are known as intermediate directions or intercardinal directions.

The order in which these directions are usually given varies from language to language. In English, for example, they are often given as North, South, East, West.


The English word north comes from the Old English norþ (north), from the Proto-Germanic *nurþrą (north, northern), from *nurþraz (north, northern), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ner- (inner, under).

The English word east comes from the Middle English est (east) the Old English ēast (east), from the Proto-Germanic *austraz (east, eastern), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ews- (dawn, east).

The English word south comes from the Old English sūþ (south), from the Proto-Germanic *sunþrą (south), from *sunþraz (south, southern), from Proto-Indo-European *sóh₂wl̥. (sun).

The English word west comes from the Old English west (west), from the Proto-Germanic *westrą (west), from *westraz (west), from Proto-Indo-European *wek(ʷ)speros (evening).

  North East South West
Afrikaans noorde ooste suide weste
Albanian pranvera vera vjeshta dimra
Arabic شمال
(šamāl)
شرق
(šarq)
جنوب
(janūb)
غرب
(ḡarb)
Armenian հյուսիս
(hyusis)
արեւելք
(arevelk’)
հարավ
(harav)
արեւմուտք
(arevmutk’)
Assamese উত্তৰ
(uttor)
পূব
(pub)
দক্ষিণ
(dokkin)
পশ্চিম
(pssim)
Aymara lapaki junt'upacha caratacu juyphipacha
autipacha
Azerbaijani şimali şərq cənubi qərb
Basque iparraldean ekialdean hego mendebaldean
Bengali উত্তর
(uttôr)
পূর্ব
(purbô)
দক্ষিণ
(dôkkhin)
পশ্চিম
(pôščim)
Belarussian поўнач
(poŭnač)
ўсход
(ŭschod)
поўдзень
(poŭdzień)
захад
(zachad)
Bikol amihanan habagatan sirangan / subangan sulnopan
Bosnian sjever istok jug zapad
Breton hanternoz reter
sav-heol
dehoù c'hornaoueg
Bulgarian север (sever) изток (iztok) юг (jug) запад (zapad)
Burmese မွောကျ
(mrauk)
အရှေ့
(ahre)
တောင်
(taung)
အနောက်
(anauk)
Catalan nord est sud oest
Cebuano amihanan silangan habagatan kasadpan
Chichewa kumpoto kummawa kum'mwera kumadzulo
Chinese (Cantonese) 北 (bāk) 東 [东] (dùng) 南 (nàahm) 西 (sāi)
Chinese (Hakka) 北 (bet7, biet7) 東 (dung1) 南 (lam2, nam2) 西 (si1)
Chinese (Mandarin) 北 (běi)
北方(běifāng)
東 [东] (dōng)
東方(dōngfāng)
南 (nán)
南方(nánfāng)
西 (xī)
西方(xīfāng)
Chinese (Taiwanese) 北 (pak) 東 (tong, tang) 南 (lăm) 西 (se, sai)
Cornish kledhbarth
noor
holdrehevel
est
dyghowbarth
soth
gorlewin
west
Corsican nordu este sudu punenti
Cree ᑮᐁᐧᑎᓄᕁ
(kîwêtinohk)
ᓵᑳᐢᑌᓄᕁ
(sâkâstênohk)
ᑮᓱᐯᐧᓄᕁ
(kîsopwenohk)
ᐸᐦᑭᓯᒨᑖᕁ
(pahkisimôtâhk)
Croatian sjever istok jug zapad
Czech sever východ jih západ
Danish norden østen syden vesten
Dutch noorden oosten zuiden westen
Estonian põhi ida lõunas lääs
Faroese norður eystur suður vestur
Finnish pohjoinen itä etelä länsi
French nord est sud ouest
Galician norte leste sur oeste
Georgian ჩრდილოეთი
(chrdiloeti)
აღმოსავლეთი
(aghmosavleti)
სამხრეთი
(samkhreti)
დასავლეთი
(dasavleti)
German Norden Osten Süden Westen
Gothic 𐌽𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌸𐍂𐍃
(naurþrs)
𐌰𐌿𐍃𐍄𐍂𐍃
(austrs)
𐍃𐌿𐌽𐌸𐍂𐍃
(sunþrs)
𐍅𐌹𐍃𐍄𐍂𐍃
(wistrs)
Greek
(Modern)
βορράς
(vorrás)
ανατολή
(anatolí)
νότος
(nótos)
δυτικός
(dytikós)
Gujarati ઉત્તર
(uttara)
પૂર્વ
(pūrva)
દક્ષિણ
(dakṣiṇa)
પશ્ચિમ
(paścima)
Haitian Creole bò solèy leve sid lwès
Hausa arewa gabas kudu yamma
Hawaiian ke akau ka hikina ka hema ke komohana
Hebrew צָפוֹן
(tzafón)
מזרח
(mizrakh)
דָרוֹם
(daróm)
מַעֲרָב
(ma'aráv)
Hindi उत्तर
(uttar)
पूर्व
(poorv)
दक्षिण
(dakshin)
पश्चिम
(pashchim)
Hungarian észak kelet dél nyugat
Icelandic norður austur suður vestur
Indonesian utara timur selatan barat
Irish (Gaelic) tuaisceart
thuaidh
(in the north)
ó thuaidh
(to the north)
aduaidh
(from the north)
oirthear
thoir
(in the east)
soir
(to the east)
anoir
(from the east)
deisceart
theas
(in the south)
ó theas
(to the south)
aneas
(from the south)
iarthear
thiar
(in the west)
siar
(to the west)
aniar
(from the west)
Italian nord est sud ovest
Japanese 北 (kita) 東 (higashi) 南 (minami) 西 (nishi)
Javanese lor wetan kidul kulon
Kannada ಉತ್ತರ
(uttara)
ಪೂರ್ವ
(pūrva)
ದಕ್ಷಿಣ
(dakṣiṇa)
ಪಶ್ಚಿಮಕ್ಕೆ
(paścimakke)
Keapara agi lakati wau gavu rigo avala
Khmer ខាងជើង
(khangcheung)
ខាងកើត
(khangkaet)
ខាងត្បូង
(khangotbaung)
ខាងលិច
(khanglich)
Korean 북쪽
(bugjjog)
동쪽
(dongjjog)
남쪽
(namjjog)
서쪽
(seojjog)
Kurdish (Kurmanji) bakûr rohilat başûr rojava
Kyrgz түндүк
(tündük)
чыгыш
(çıgış)
түштүк
(tüştük)
батыш
(batış)
Lao ພາກເຫນືອ
(phakhenu)
ພາກຕາເວັນອອກ
(phaktauaenook)
ພາກໃຕ້
(phaktai)
ຕາເວັນຕົກ
(tauaentok)
Latin septentriō oriēns merīdiēs
austrālis
occidēns
Lithuanian šiaurė rytuose pietuose vakaruose
Luxembourgish norden osten süden westen
Macedonian север
(sever)
исток
(istok)
југ
(jug)
запад
(zapad)
Malay utara timur selatan barat
Malayalam വടക്ക്
(vaṭakk)
കിഴക്ക്
(kiḻakk)
തെക്ക്
(tekk)
പടിഞ്ഞാറ്
(paṭiññāṟ)
Maltese tramuntana lvant nofsinhar punent
Manx (Gaelic) twoaie hiar jiass eear
Maori raki rawhiti tonga hauauru
Marathi उत्तर
(uttara)
पूर्व
(pūrva)
दक्षिण
(dakṣiṇa)
पश्चिम
(paścima)
Middle English north, norþ est south, souþ west
Nahuatl mictlāmpa tlāhuiztlāmpa huitztlāmpa cihuātlāmpa
Nepali उत्तर
(uttara)
पूर्व
(pūrva)
दक्षिण
(dakṣiṇa)
पश्चिम
(paścima)
Norweigan nord øst sør, syd vest
Occitan nòrd èst
orient
pojant
sud
miègjorn
oèst
occident
Ojibwe giiwedin waaban zhaawan ningaabii'an
Old Church Slavonic сѣверъ
(sěverŭ)
въстокъ
(vŭstokŭ)
югъ
(jugŭ)
западъ
(zapadŭ)
Old Dutch north *ōst *sūth *west
Old English norþ ēast sūþ west
Old French norht, north, nort est su, sud west
Old Frisian north *āst *sūth *west
Old High German nord ōst sund(an) west
Old Norse norðr austr suðr vestr
Pashto
شمال ختیځ سویل لویدیځ
Persian
(Farsi)
شمال شرق جنوب غرب
Polish północ wschód południe zachód
Portuguese norte leste sul oeste
Proto-Germanic *nurþrą *austrą *sunþrą *westrą
Punjabi ਉੱਤਰ
(utara)
ਪੂਰਬ
(pūraba)
ਦੱਖਣ
(dakhaṇa)
ਪੱਛਮ
(pachama)
Romanian nord est sud vest
Romanian Tatar sîrt kúntuwar kîbla kúnbatar
Russian север
(sever)
восток
(vostok)
юг
(yug)
запад
(zapad)
Samoan matu sase saute sisifo
Saterland Frisian Noude, Nudden Aaste Suude Wääste
Scots north east sooth wast
Scottish Gaelic tuath ear deas iar
Serbian север
(sever)
исток
(istok)
југ
(jug)
запад
(zapad)
Shona mawodzanyemba mabvazuva chamhembe kumadokero
Sindhi اتر اوڀر ڏکڻ اولھ
Sinhala උතුරු
(uturu)
නැගෙනහිර
(nægenahira)
දකුණු
(dakuṇu)
බටහිර
(baṭahira)
Slovak sever východ juh západ
Slovenian sever vzhod jug zahod
Somali waqooyiga bari konnfur galbeed
Southern Sotho leboea ka bochabela ka boroa bophirimela
Spanish norte este sur oeste
Sumerian 𒅎𒋛𒁲
(sisa)
𒅎𒊕𒋾
(sati)
𒅎𒆳𒊏
(kurra)
𒅎𒍇𒇻
(ulu)
𒅎𒈥𒌅
(martu)
Sundanese kaler wetan kidul kulon
Swahili kaskazini mashariki kusini magharibi
Swedish nord, norr öst, öster syd, söder väst, väster
Tagalog hilaga silangan timog kanluran
Tajik шимол
(şimol)
шарқ
(şarq)
ҷануб
(çanuʙ)
ғарб
(ƣarʙ)
Tamil வடக்கு
(vaṭakku)
கிழக்கு
(kiḻakku)
தெற்கு
(teṟku)
மேற்கு
(mēṟku)
Telugu ఉత్తర
(uttara)
తూర్పు
(tūrpu)
దక్షిణ
(dakṣiṇa)
పశ్చిమ
(paścima)
Thai เหนือ
(nĕua)
อุดร
(ù-don)
ตะวันออก
(dtà-wan òk)
บูรพา
(boo-rá-paa)
ใต้
(dtâi)
ทักษิณ
(ták-sĭn)
ตะวันตก
(dtà-wan dtòk)
ประจิม
(bprà-jim)
Tok Pisin not hap sankamap saut wes
Turkish kuzeyinde doğu güney batı
Tuvaluan maatuu sopogaalaa
saegaalaa
haegaalaa
saute
sulu
toga
toogaalaa
sisifo
Ukrainian північ
(pivnich)
схід
(skhid)
південь
(pivdenʹ)
захід
(zakhid)
Urdu شمال
(shimál)
مشرق
(mashriq)
جنوب
(junúb)
مغرب
(mağrib)
Uyghur شىمال‎
(shimal)
شەرق‎
(sherq)
جەنۇب‎
(jenub)
غەرب‎
(gherb)
Vietnamese bắc, bấc (北) đông (東) nam (南) tây (西)
Welsh gogledd dwyrain de gorllewin
West Frisian noard east súd west, westen
Xhosa mantla ngasekhohlo mazantsi entshona
Yiddish צפֿון
(tsofn)
מזרח
(mizrekh)
דרום
(dorem)
מערבֿ
(meyrev)
Yoruba ariwa õrùn guusu oorun
Zulu enyakatho empumalanga eningizimu entshonalanga

Compass directions in constructed languages

  North East South West
Esperanto nordo oriento sudo okcidento
Ido nordo esto sudo westo
Interglossa nord
boreo
est
orienta
anatola
sud
austra
ocide
uest
hespero
ocidenta
Interlingua nord est sud west
Interslavic sěver / сѣвер iztok / изток
vozhod / возход
jug / југ zapad / запад
Novial norde ost sud westo
occidento
Romanico nordo esto sudo weste
Solresol dolasifa fasilare fasilado relasifa
Volapük nolüd lofüd sulüd vesüd

Translations and corrections by Armas Ukko Markkula Hanke, Moh'd Shakeb Baig, Sagir Ahmed Msa, Karl Ian Basilla Basallote, Joe-Luck Saifi, Christopher Ray Miller, Ujjwal Mandal, Abu Saleh Mohammad Sultan, Paongquinho Rivera, Kiniravu Karo Kila Wanae, Tornike Nakashidze, Kiniravu Karo Kila Wanae, Láng Attila, Charles J. Lippert, Тодор Николов, Emanuel Fuchs

If you would like to make any corrections or additions to this page, or if you can provide recordings, please contact me.

Links

Compass directions in various languages
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardinal_direction
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himmelsrichtung
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punto_cardinal
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_cardinal
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:Cardinal_directions

Multilingual pages

Useful phrases | Silly phrases | Numbers | Numerals | Colours | Telling the time | Dates | Weather words | Family words | Terms of endearment | Language names | Country names | Idioms | Proverbs | Tongue twisters | Signs | Compass directions | UDHR | Tower of Babel | Songs | Omniglot | Seven dwarfs | Zodiac signs | Computer parts | Compass directions | Animal sounds

[top]


Green Web Hosting - Kualo

Why not share this page:

 

Talk in Arabic - Learn Egyptian, Iraqi, Levantine, Sundanese, Moroccan, Algerian or Saudi Arabic

If you like this site and find it useful, you can support it by making a donation via PayPal or Patreon, or by contributing in other ways. Omniglot is how I make my living.

 

Note: all links on this site to Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.fr are affiliate links. This means I earn a commission if you click on any of them and buy something. So by clicking on these links you can help to support this site.

Get a 30-day Free Trial of Amazon Prime (UK)

If you're looking for home or car insurance in the UK, why not try Policy Expert?

[top]

iVisa.com