How to Say "North South East West" in Japanese

東西南北

tōzainanboku

The Japanese phrase for "north south east west" is 東西南北 (tōzainanboku).

東西南北 is a single four-kanji compound used as a collective noun to refer to the four cardinal directions.

What does it mean word for word?

The compound is composed of the characters for east 東, west 西, south 南 and north 北.

tōzainanboku

Because the character 北 (north) is traditionally associated with death and bad luck, people often avoid placing beds or certain rooms on the 'north side' of a house.
In Japanese, the phrase 東西南北 can be used figuratively to mean 'all directions' or 'the whole world', much like saying 'from the north to the south' in English.
The compound 東西南北 originates from Middle Chinese 東西南北.

その山の北には美しい湖が広がっています。
To the north of that mountain, you will find a beautiful lake.
東京から南へ行くと暖かい気候になります。
If you go south from Tokyo, the climate becomes warmer.
朝日は東から昇ります。
The sun rises from the east.
夕日は西に沈みます。
The sun sets in the west.
あの山の北にはきれいな川があるよ。
There's a beautiful river to the north of that mountain.
この道を南へ進んでください。
Please proceed south on this street.
東に行くと海が見えます。
If you go east, you'll see the sea.
あの公園の向こう側は西です。
The other side of that park is to the west.
東西南北を覚えておく必要があります。
touzainanboku o oboete oku hitsuyou ga arimasu.
You need to remember north, south, east, and west.
コンパスは東西南北を示しています。
konpasu wa touzainanboku o shimeshite imasu.
The compass shows north, south, east, and west.

A hiking trip where the two friends are checking a map.

大翔 Hiroto

地図で東西南北を確認しよう。
chizu de touzainanboku o kakunin shiyou.
Let's check north, south, east, and west on the map.
結衣 Yui

はい、大翔さん。北はあちらですね。
hai, shouto-san. kita wa achira desu ne.
Yes, Hiroto. North is over there, right?
大翔 Hiroto

結衣さん、東西南北を間違えないようにね。
yui-san, touzainanboku o machigaenai you ni ne.
Yui, make sure you don't mix up north, south, east, and west.
結衣 Yui

大丈夫、ちゃんと分かっています。
daijoubu, chanto wakatte imasu.
It's okay, I understand them clearly.

Sources

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