Today we are going to revise 4 words that are related to directions:
If you have forgotten about these words, click here : 东南西北.
In English, direction in between East and South is called South-East. However, in Chinese, we call it the other way round, 东南 (East South).
Here are the difference between Chinese and English for direction:
English
Chinese
South-East
东南 (East South)
South-West
西南 (West North)
North-East
东北 (East North)
North-West
西北 (West North)
How about 东西 (East West)? This is a very common word in Chinese. However, this word is nothing related to direction. 东西 in Chinese means things. To see a sentence example, click here.
I found an interesting image from the web that will be useful for you to remember the direction for these four words: