How to ask for & give directions in Chinese so you'll never be lost

We all get lost every now and then, so make sure you know how to ask for directions in Chinese so you’ll never be lost in China!

Getting lost anywhere can be a stressful situation, especially when you’re in a foreign country. While navigation apps are getting more and more precise, they can only take us so far. Sometimes, finding the exact location of a store or building can be beyond the scope of any app, so we’ll have to rely on locals to help us get there. When that happens, your best bet is to be prepared with a few ways to ask for directions in Chinese.

In this article, we’ll show you not only how to ask for directions in Chinese, but also everything you need to know to understand them. From the names of buildings to parts of the road and public transit, we’ll cover everything you need to know to get to where you need regardless of your mode of transport.

So, if you have places to go and people to see, let’s get started right away to get you on your way!

Table of contents

• How to say compass directions in Chinese
• How to say position directions in Chinese
• Must-know vocabulary words about navigation and locations
• How to ask for directions in Mandarin
• How to give directions in Mandarin
• Fengshui and directions
• FAQs about directions in Chinese
• Chinese idioms about directions

How to say compass directions in Chinese

First things first, we have to talk about the cardinal points in Chinese. Not just because they’re the basic blocks of directions, but because they’re a critical part of Chinese culture. The cardinal points were hugely influential in helping ancient Chinese civilizations make sense of the universe and organize their life. They are an integral part of the Theory of the Five Elements, which explains the constantly changing nature of the universe.

You’ll notice that many city and province names in China have a cardinal point in them, like 北京 (běi jīng) and 湖南 (hú nán). Then, Feng Shui places a lot of emphasis on the cardinal directions, but more on that below!

For now, let’s get started with the basics about directions in Chinese.

English	Chinese	Pinyin	Pronunciation
East	东	dōng	dong
South	南	nán	nan
West	西	xī	shi
North	北	běi	beei
Northeast	东北	dōng běi	dong beei
Southeast	东南	dōng nán	dong nan
Southwest	西南	xī nán	shi nan
Northwest	西北	xī běi	shi beei
Eastern	东方的	dōng fāng de	dong fang de
Southern	南方的	nán fāng de	nan fang de
Western	西方的	xī fāng de	shi fang de
Northern	北方的	běi fāng de	beei fang de
Eastern part	东部	dōng bù	dong buh
Southern part	南部	nán bù	nan buh
Western part	西部	xī bù	shi buh
Northern part	北部	běi bù	beei buh
Eastern side	东边	dōng bian	dong bian
Southern side	南边	nán bian	nan bian
Western side	西边	xī bian	shi bian
Northern side	北边	běi bian	beei bian

How to say position directions in Chinese

Position directions are those that only tell us the position of an object relative to the position of another object. They’re words like above, below, left, right, and toward that use another object as a reference to help guide us closer to our destination. Unless you’re a pirate navigating the high seas, these will be much more useful to you on a day-to-day basis than the cardinal directions. It’s generally easier to understand “turn left at the pharmacy” than “turn east at the pharmacy,” so choose wisely!

English	Chinese	Pinyin	Pronunciation
On, above	上	shàng	shanq
Under, below	下	xià	shiah
In front of	前	qián	chyan
Behind	后	hòu	how
Left	左	zuǒ	tzuoo
Right	右	yòu	yow
Toward	向	xiàng	shianq
In, inside	里	lǐ	lii
Out, outside	外	wài	way
Next to	旁	páng	parng
Middle	中	zhōng	jong
On top / above	上边	shàng bian	shanq bian
Below / under	下边	xià bian	shiah bian
Above	之上	zhī shàng	jy shanq
Before	之前	zhī qián	jy chyan
Inside	里面	lǐ miàn	lii miann
Outside	外边	wài bian	way bian
Behind	后头	hòu tou	how tou
Front	前头	qián tou	chyan tou
In the front	在前方	zài qián fāng	tzay chyan fang
In the back	在后方	zài hòu fāng	tzay how fang

Must-know vocabulary words about navigation and locations

Besides direction words, you should also dedicate some time to learning some vocabulary words about navigation and locations. In particular, we’ll cover vocabulary words for places, buildings, and traffic to help you reach your destination, no matter where you are.

Let’s start with general words about navigation and locations. While these may not come up on a daily basis, being familiar with them is still important if you’re interested in geography or navigation in general.

English	Chinese	Pinyin	Pronunciation
Compass	指南针	zhǐ nán zhēn	jyy nan jen
Compass	罗盘	luó pán	luo parn
World map	世界地图	shì jiè dì tú	shyh jieh dih twu
Direction	方向	fāng xiàng	fang shianq
Position	位置	wèi zhì	wey jyh
Geography	地理	dì lǐ	dih lii
Geographic position	地理位置	dì lǐ wèi zhì	dih lii wey jyh
Region	地区	dì qū	dih chiu
Place	地方	dì fāng	dih fang
Located	位于	wèi yú	wey yu

Places

Directions will often involve the locations of other buildings, like “turn right at the gas station” or “walk past the park to get to the train station.” That’s why we’re going to cover 23 location places below, so you always know how to reach your destination.

English	Chinese	Pinyin	Pronunciation
Airport	机场	jī chǎng	ji chaang
Railway station	火车站	huǒ chē zhàn	huoo che jann
Metro station	地铁站	dì tiě zhàn	dih tiee jann
Bus station	公交车站	gōng jiāo chē zhàn	gong jiau che jann
Downtown	市中心	shì zhōng xīn	shyh jong shin
Park	公园	gōng yuán	gong yuan
Garden	花园	huā yuán	hua yuan
Hospital	医院	yī yuàn	i yuann
Bank	银行	yín háng	yn harng
Hotel	酒店	jiǔ diàn	jeou diann
Mall	商场	shāng chǎng	shang chaang
Museum	博物馆	bó wù guǎn	bor wuh goan
City hall	市政厅	shì zhèng tīng	shyh jenq ting
College	学院	xué yuàn	shyue yuann
Pharmacy	药房	yào fáng	yaw farng
Embassy	大使馆	dà shǐ guǎn	dah shyy goan
Library	图书馆	tú shū guǎn	twu shu goan
Movie theater	电影院	diàn yǐng yuàn	diann yiing yuann
Restaurant	餐厅	cān tīng	tsan ting
Store	商店	shāng diàn	shang diann
University	大学	dà xué	dah shyue
Zoo	动物园	dòng wù yuán	donq wuh yuan
Church	教堂	jiào táng

Buildings

Sometimes, you’ll need to find a location of a specific room within a building, like a shop at the mall or a classroom in a school building. Most notably, knowing the numbers in Chinese will come in handy here, as you’ll be able to tell what floor you should be on. Doing so is extremely easy, as you just place the number right before 楼 (lóu) to specify a floor. So, the third floor becomes 三楼 (sān lóu) and the seventh floor becomes 七楼 (qī lóu), and so on.

English	Chinese	Pinyin	Pronunciation
Building	大楼	dà lóu	dah lou
House	房子	fáng zi	farng tzy
Apartment	公寓	gōng yù	gong yuh
Skyscraper	摩天大楼	mó tiān dà lóu	mo tian dah lou
Tower	塔	tǎ	taa
Main gate	大门	dà mén	dah men
Elevator/escalator	电梯	diàn tī	diann ti
Stairs	楼梯	lóu tī	lou ti
Floor	楼层	lóu céng	lou tserng
Room	房间	fáng jiān	farng jian
Restroom	洗手间	xǐ shǒu jiān	shii shoou jian
Restroom	卫生间	wèi shēng jiān	wey sheng jian
Information desk	问询处	wèn xún chù	wenn shyun chuh
Emergency exit	安全出口	ān quán chū kǒu	an chyuan chu koou
Wall	墙	qiáng	chyang
Brick wall	砖墙	zhuān qiáng	juan chyang
Dormitory	集体宿舍	jí tǐ sù shè	jyi tii suh sheh
Dormitory room	宿舍	sù shè	suh sheh
Office	办公室	bàn gōng shì	bann gong shyh
Fire escape	逃生梯	táo shēng tī	taur sheng ti
Yard	院子	yuàn zi	yuann tzy

Traffic

If you plan to drive in China, whether it is to your new job or on a fun road trip through the beautiful scenery of Sichuan, then you need to be acquainted with the following road and traffic vocabulary in Chinese. Not only will it help keep you safe, but it will also be useful if you need to ask for directions on the road!

English	Chinese	Pinyin	Pronunciation
Road	马路	mǎ lù	maa luh
Street	街	jiē	jie
Boulevard	大道	dà dào	dah daw
Intersection	路口	lù kǒu	luh koou
Crossroads	十字路口	shí zì lù kǒu	shyr tzyh luh koou
Traffic light	红绿灯	hóng lǜ dēng	horng liuh deng
Crosswalk	斑马线	bān mǎ xiàn	ban maa shiann
Corner	拐角	guǎi jiǎo	goai jeau
Overpass	天桥	tiān qiáo	tian chyau
Sign	指示牌	zhǐ shì pái	jyy shyh pair
Parking spot	停车位	tíng chē wèi	tyng che wey
Newspaper stand	报刊亭	bào kān tíng	baw kan tyng
Roundabout	环形路口	huán xíng lù kǒu	hwan shyng luh koou
Gas station	加油站	jiā yóu zhàn	jia you jann
Expressway	高速公路	gāo sù gōng lù	gau suh gong luh
Bridge	桥	qiáo	chyau
Tunnel	隧道	suì dào	suey daw
Sidewalk	人行道	rén xíng dào	ren shyng daw
Railroad	铁路	tiě lù	tiee luh
Path	路径	lù jìng	luh jinq

How to ask for directions in Mandarin

Now that you know plenty of vocabulary related to directions in Chinese, it’s time to learn how to ask for directions in Mandarin. There are three common ways to ask where something is in Chinese, so let’s take a look at each of them:

____在哪？

The first and most common way to ask for directions in Chinese is to simply state where you’re trying to go and follow it with 在哪? (___ zài nǎ?). It translates into “Where is ____?” except that the subject is placed at the front of the sentence, as is often the case in Chinese. Here are some example sentences so you always know how to get to where you’re going:

English	Chinese	Pinyin	Pronunciation
Where is the bathroom?	洗手间在哪？	xǐ shǒu jiān zài nǎ?	shii shoou jian tzay naa
Where is the metro station?	地铁站在哪？	dì tiě zhàn zài nǎ?	dih tiee jann tzay naa
Where is the cafeteria?	食堂在哪？	shí táng zài nǎ?	shyr tarng tzay naa

去____怎么走？

Another common way of asking for directions is by asking how to go somewhere. For this, we use the structure 去____怎么走？(qù ___ zěn me zǒu?), which roughly translates to “How do I get to ____?” Here are some example sentences:

English	Chinese	Pinyin	Pronunciation
How do I get to the library?	去图书馆怎么走？	qù tú shū guǎn zěn me zǒu?	chiuh twu shu goan tzeen me tzoou
How do I get to the classroom?	去教室怎么走？	qù jiào shì zěn me zǒu?	chiuh jiaw shyh tzeen me tzoou
How do I get to the activity room?	去活动室怎么走？	qù huó dòng shì zěn me zǒu?	chiuh hwo donq shyh tzeen me tzoou

____离这儿有多远？

Finally, you can ask how far away something is. Maybe you’re thinking of going to the mall but not sure if you have enough time or are planning a weekend trip somewhere nearby. For that, we’ll use the structure ____离这儿有多远？(___lí zhè’er yǒu duō yuǎn?), which translates to “How far away is ____ from here?” Here are some examples:

English	Chinese	Pinyin	Pronunciation
How far away is the school from here?	学校离这儿有多远？	xué xiào lí zhè'er yǒu duō yuǎn?	shyue shiaw li jeh yeou duo yeuan
How far away is the airport from here?	机场离这儿有多远？	jī chǎng lí zhè'er yǒu duō yuǎn?	ji chaang li jeh yeou duo yeuan
How far away is Shanghai from here?	上海离这儿有多远？	shàng hǎi lí zhè'er yǒu duō yuǎn?	shanq hae li jeh yeou duo yeuan

How to give directions in Mandarin

Finally, you might be asked to give directions in Mandarin if you spend some time in China. Although you might not get stopped in the street by strangers if you look like a foreigner, you still want to be a good Samaritan and help out when you do know how to get somewhere. Here is the most important vocabulary you’ll need to give directions in Chinese:

English	Chinese	Pinyin	Pronunciation
At…	在……	zài…	tzay
First…then…	先……再……	xiān…zài…	shian tzay
Go along…	沿着……走	yán zhe…zǒu	yan je tzoou
Go straight	直走	zhí zǒu	jyr tzoou
Turn left	左转	zuǒ zhuǎn	tzuoo joan
Turn right	右转	yòu zhuǎn	yow joan
Turn left	左拐	zuǒ guǎi	tzuoo goai
Turn right	右拐	yòu guǎi	yow goai
Go toward …	往……走	wǎng…zǒu	woang tzoou
Make a U-turn	掉头	diào tóu	diaw tour
To go upstairs	上楼	shàng lóu	shanq lou
To go downstairs	下楼	xià lóu	shiah lou
Very close	很近	hěn jìn	heen jinn
Pretty far	挺远的	tǐng yuǎn de	tiing yeuan de

What to respond if you don’t know the directions

And of course, you won’t always be able to tell someone how to get to where they’re going. No matter how long you’ve been living in China, there will undoubtedly come a time when you simply don’t know how to help someone get to where they need to go. For those situations, you can use any of the following sentences to politely let someone know that you simply don’t know how to help them:

English	Chinese	Pinyin	Pronunciation
Sorry, I do not know how to get to this place.	对不起，我不知道怎么去这个地方。	duì bù qǐ, wǒ bù zhī dào zěn me qù zhè ge dì fāng.	duey buh chii woo buh jy daw tzeen me chiuh jeh ge dih fang
Sorry, I don’t know how to get there. You can ask that person.	不好意思，我不知道怎么去。你可以问那个人。	bù hǎo yì si, wǒ bù zhī dào zěn me qù. Nǐ kě yǐ wèn nà gè rén.	buh hao yih sy woo buh jy daw tzeen me chiuh nii kee yii wenn nah geh ren
Sorry, I’m not sure. You’d better ask somebody else. I’m afraid to give you the wrong direction. Sorry.	对不起，我不是很清楚。你还是问别人吧。我怕给你错的方向。不好意思。	duì bù qǐ, wǒ bú shì hěn qīng chǔ. nǐ hái shì wèn bié rén ba. wǒ pà gěi nǐ cuò de fāng xiàng. bù hǎo yì sī.	duey buh chii woo buh shyh heen ching chuu nii hair shyh wenn bye ren ba woo pah geei nii tsuoh de fang shianq buh hao yih sy
Sorry, I’m also a tourist and am not familiar with this place.	不好意思，我也是游客，对这里不熟。	bù hǎo yì si, wǒ yě shì yóu kè, duì zhè lǐ bù shú.	buh hao yih sy woo yee shyh you keh duey jeh lii buh shwu
Sorry, I don’t live here.	不好意思，我不住在这儿。	bù hǎo yì si, wǒ bú zhù zài zhè’er	buh hao yih sy woo buh juh tzay jeh’el

Fengshui and directions

You’ve probably heard of 风水 (fēng shuǐ), which is the traditional Chinese philosophy of maximizing the flow of energy in the universe. This energy is known as 气 (qì), which is the underlying basis for traditional Chinese medicine, martial arts, and more. Today, the principles of feng shui are applied in architecture and interior design all around the world, with the cardinal directions playing a significant role in it.

According to the tradition, if you sit and sleep facing the right directions, then good luck will come your way. That’s why people in China sometimes hire feng shui consultants before purchasing a new home.

FAQs about directions in Chinese

How do you say left and right in Chinese?

Left in Chinese is 左 (zuǒ) and right is 右 (yòu). They are usually accompanied by the word 边 (biān) to indicate that something is to the left or to the right of something, such as 左边 (zuǒ biān) or 右边 (yòu biān). Here are a couple of examples:

English	Chinese	Pinyin	Pronunciation
The library is to the right of the museum	图书馆在博物馆的右边	tú shū guǎn zài bó wù guǎn de yòu biān	twu shu goan tzay bor wuh goan de yow bian
The kitchen is to the left of the bedroom	厨房在卧室的左边	chú fáng zài wò shì de zuǒ biān	chwu farng tzay woh shyh de tzuoo bian

BONUS: What happens when you combine both left and right? You get 左右 (zuǒ yòu)! This is a word that means “approximately” or “around” and can be useful when you don’t know the exact amount of something, like time, measurements, distances, and more.

Is Chinese written from left to right?

Yes! Just like English and the rest of the Germanic languages, Chinese is typically written from left to right.

Can Chinese be written from up to down?

It can be! Traditional Chinese used to be written from top to bottom, in columns that went from the right side of the page to the left. However, that is less common nowadays and most books are written from left to right, just as in English.

Chinese idioms about directions

If you’ve been learning Mandarin for a while, then you already know how important idioms are in day-to-day conversations. As such, here are some of the most popular idioms in Chinese involving directions!

English	Chinese	Pinyin	Pronunciation	Meaning
Running around	东奔西走	dōng bēn xī zǒu	dong ben shi tzoou	To run around hurriedly, usually while busy with something
Looking around	东张西望	dōng zhāng xī wàng	dong jang shi wanq	To look in all directions
Polar opposites	南辕北辙	nán yuán běi zhé	nan yuan beei jer	The literal meaning is that you’re meant to be going south but your horse carriage is heading north, thus, you’re doing the polar opposite of what you should be doing.
Coming from south, going to north	南来北往	nán lái běi wǎng	nan lai beei woang	To come and go all the time
Southern accent and northern tone	南腔北调	nán qiāng běi diào	nan chiang beei diaw	Having an impure accent and mixed with dialects
To glance left and right	左顾右盼	zuǒ gù yòu pàn	tzuoo guh yow pann	To look around
Dilemma	左右为难	zuǒ yòu wéi nán	tzuoo yow wei nan	To be between a rock and a hard place
Roads open in all directions	四通八达	sì tōng bā dá	syh tong ba dar	Describes extremely convenient in transportation
Thousands of times and hundreds of twists and turns	千回百折	qiān huí bǎi zhé	chian hwei bae jer	Describes an intricate story with many twists and turns

Don’t lose your way with our Mandarin Chinese blog!

Now, you know over 154 helpful phrases that will help you get to wherever you’re going thanks to your stellar Chinese abilities. Even if you get lost in the process, you’ll always be able to find your way and course-correct. And, if you’re lucky enough to be exploring the beautiful and exciting streets of China, getting lost is sometimes the best part. Just trust that you’ll be able to find your way thanks to what you’ve learned in this guide and enjoy the ride!

If you want to polish more of your Chinese, then check out our Mandarin Chinese blog! We regularly publish guides like these to help you improve every aspect of your language journey, from acing the marketing world in Chinese to conquering over 200 drinks in Chinese.