Cardinal & Intermediate Directions in Japanese

How do you say “north” in Japanese?

Here is a list of the directions in Japanese.

directions 方角

 方角 hougaku*

 *We pronounce “hougaku” like “hōgaku”.

Cardinal Directions

north 北

 北 kita

south 南

 南 minami

east 東

 東 higashi

west 西

 西 nishi

Intermediate directions

northeast 北東

 北東 hokutou*

 *We pronounce “hokutou” like “hokutō”.

southeast 南東

 南東 nantou*

 *We pronounce “nantou” like “nantō”.

southwest 南西

 南西 nansei*

 *We pronounce “nansei” like “nansē”.

northwest 北西

 北西 hokusei*

 *We pronounce “hokusei” like “hokusē”.