# Compass points in Vietnamese (A2)

> The four directions are bắc (north), nam (south), đông (east) and tây (west). To combine them, Vietnamese puts east or west first, the reverse of…

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/compass-order/ · Updated 2026-10-17

**north-east etc.**

Pattern: `Đông / Tây + Nam / Bắc`

Level: A2 (our estimate) · Register: everyday

The four directions are *bắc* (north), *nam* (south), *đông* (east) and *tây* (west). To combine them, Vietnamese puts east or west first, the reverse of English: *đông bắc* is north-east, *đông nam* south-east, *tây bắc* north-west and *tây nam* south-west. South-East Asia is *Đông Nam Á*.

In a sentence they usually follow *phía* (side) or *hướng* (direction): *phía bắc* (the north, to the north), *đi về hướng tây* (head west). People also ask which way a house or flat faces, because many care about it: *Nhà này hướng đông nam.*

For the regions of Vietnam, the word is *miền*: *miền Bắc*, *miền Trung*, *miền Nam*. *Miền Tây* is the Mekong Delta, and *Tây Bắc* the mountains of the far north-west. As names of regions, they're written with capitals.

You'll meet the combined forms on maps and in the weather forecast: *gió đông bắc*, a north-east wind.

## A common mistake

✗ Nhà em hướng nam đông.

✓ Nhà em hướng đông nam.

East or west comes first: *đông nam* is south-east, *tây bắc* north-west.

## Examples

- Đà Lạt ở phía đông bắc Sài Gòn. — Đà Lạt is north-east of Saigon.
- Nhà này hướng đông nam, mát lắm. — This house faces south-east, so it's nice and cool.
- Việt Nam ở Đông Nam Á. — Vietnam is in South-East Asia.
- Saigon: Tháng sau tụi em đi Tây Bắc. | Hà Nội: Tháng sau bọn em đi Tây Bắc. — Next month we're going to the north-west.

Previous in Things, counting and numbers: [Classifier for rain, storms, fevers, anger: cơn](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/clf-con-weather/)
Next in Things, counting and numbers: [Describing a noun with a verb phrase, no 'who / which': người tới hôm qua](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/relative-no-ma/)

---

Add to Vietnamese Buddy: https://app.vietnamesebuddy.com/waitlist?source=grammar%3Au_compass_order
In the app, the grammar points from your own class material are kept with their status, and any word you meet while reading can go into your lexicon with its audio, ready to study.