Directions, Location and Getting Around

Giving Directions and Compass Points

When giving directions, Chinese speakers use the preposition 往(wǎng: toward, in the direction of) before a direction word to say which way to move. The common structure is 往 + direction + movement verb, for example 往前走 (wǎng qián zǒu: walk forward), 往左拐 (wǎng zuǒ guǎi: turn left), 往右转 (wǎng yòu zhuǎn: turn right). The phrase 一直往前走(yìzhí wǎng qián zǒu: keep walking straight ahead) is the most frequently used direction pattern. Do not confuse 往 with 网(wǎng: internet, net). The two characters have the same sound, but 网 is not used to indicate direction. Example: 你往北走两百米就到。

Common direction words are 东 (dōng: east), 南 (nán: south), 西 (xī: west), 北 (běi: north), 左 (zuǒ: left), 右 (yòu: right), 前 (qián: front), and 后 (hòu: back). When used as nouns for location, they are often combined with 边 (biān: side) or 面 (miàn: surface, side): 东边(dōngbian: east side), 南边(nánbian: south side), 左边(zuǒbian: left side). After 东, 南, and 左, 边 usually follows, so when filling in blanks, pay attention to the direction character that comes before 边. Example: 银行在车站的南边。

Some characters are pronounced the same but have different meanings, and they are easily confused in exercises: