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 | nò | 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 |
| 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.
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
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