Learn To Give Directions In Mandarin Chinese
If you visit China or Taiwan, you'll need to know how to ask for directions.
In this lesson, we'll cover essential direction vocabulary and help you ask for directions in Chinese.
Chinese Directions (中方向)- (zhōng fāng xiàng)
Cardinal (map) directions in Chinese
These are your compass directions:
| English | Chinese Characters | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| east | 东 | dōng |
| south | 南 | nán |
| west | 西 | xī |
| north | 北 | běi |
Intercardinal (map) directions in Chinese
Intercardinals are the directions in between the cardinals.
In Chinese these are easy - just combine the two words together. KEY POINT: "East" and "West" always come first in Chinese (e.g. 'westsouth' rather than 'southwest' as in English).
| English | Chinese Characters | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| northeast | 东北 | dōngběi |
| southeast | 东南 | dōngnán |
| northwest | 西北 | xīběi |
| southwest | 西南 | xīnán |
Directions for the road (positional)
| English | Chinese Characters | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| left | 左 | zuǒ |
| right | 右 / 权利 | Yòu / Quán lì |
| up | 上 | Shàng |
| down | 下 | Xià |
| in front of | 面前 | miàn qián |
| in back of | 在回 | zài huí |
| far | 远 | yuǎn |
| near | 近 | jìn |
| street | 街 | jiē |
| avenue | 大街 | dà jiē |
Examples of giving or asking for directions in Chinese:
The store is located to the right of the university.
该 店 位 于 大 学 的 权 利
Nà jiā shāngdiàn shì zài gāoxiào de quán lì
Where is the Libertador avenue?
哪 里 是 解 放 者 大 街
Nǎlǐ shì jiěfàng zhě dà jiē
The municipality is near to the square.
市 政 当 局 正 在 附 近 的 广 场
Shìzhèng dāngjú zhèngzài fù jìn de guǎngchǎng
Chile is south of Peru.
智 利 是 南 秘 鲁
Zhìlì shì nán bìlǔ
