Directions in Mandarin | The Ultimate Collection of Vocab and Phrases

When it comes to learning any language, there are a few topics that are considered essential for beginners:

colours, animals, swear/curse words, and directions.

Now as you might have heard from other folks or seen from a map, China is pretty huge. Learning to give and ask for directions are practical skills that are a must-have in this land.

Yes, the introduction of map apps has been incredibly beneficial, but you don’t want to spend too much time glued to your phone, and we’re here to learn Mandarin, right?

In this post, you’ll find words, terms, phrases, and other information required to successfully read, understand, and ask for directions in Mandarin Chinese.

Cardinal Directions
Positional Vocabulary
Landmark Phrases
On the Road
Inside a Building
Distance Phrases
Direction Phrases
Asking and Getting Directions

North, South, East, West

It’s rare these days for people who are lost to go into their pocket or bag and whip out a compass to assist them.

However, cardinal directions are still very useful to know.

English	Chinese	Pinyin
North	北	Běi
South	南	Nán
East	东	Dōng
West	西	Xǐ

When these terms are used for intercardinal directions, all you need to do is simply combine the characters to denote those directions.

One thing to remember is that intercardinal directions in Chinese are placed in the opposite order to how they are in English.

For example, in English, we say ‘north east’, but in Chinese, we say ‘east north’.

English	Chinese	Pinyin
North West	西北	Xīběi
North East	东北	Dōngběi
South West	西南	Xīnán
South East	东南	Dōngnán

Just like in most languages, we rarely use cardinal and intercardinal numbers when giving directions – we tend to use positional related vocabulary.

Positional Vocabulary

English	Chinese	Pinyin
Left	左	zuǒ
Right	右	yòu
Front	前	qián
Back	后	hòu
At/on	在	zài
Up	上	shàng
Down	下	xià
Inside	里	lǐ
Outside	外	wài

Now let’s put some of these words into some useful phrases.

English	Chinese	Pinyin
Turn left	向左转	xiàng zuǒ zhuǎn
Turn right	向右转	xiàng yòu zhuǎn
Go straight	往前走一直走	wǎng qián zǒu yīzhí zǒu
Go along	沿着…走	yánzhe …zǒu
Go towards	往…走	wǎng …zǒu
Make a U-turn	掉头	diàotóu
Go upstairs	上楼	shàng lóu
Go downstairs	下楼	xià lóu
From… to…	从…到…	cóng…dào…
Go across	穿过	chuān guò
Pass	经过	jīngguò

Landmark Phrases

English	Chinese	Pinyin
Airport	机场	jīchǎng
Railway Station	火车站	huǒchē zhàn
Subway Station	地铁站	dìtiě zhàn
Gas Station	加油站	jiāyóu zhàn
Bus Stop	公共汽车站	gōnggòng qìchē zhàn
Downtown	市中心	shì zhōngxīn
Park	公园	gōngyuán
Hospital	医院	yīyuàn
Hotel	酒店	jiǔdiàn
Mall	购物广场	gòuwùguǎngchǎng
Museum	博物馆	bówùguǎn
Market	市场	shìchǎng
Bank	银行	yínháng

On the Road

English	Chinese	Pinyin
Direction	方向	fāngxiàng
Traffic light	红绿灯	hónglǜdēng
Intersection	路口	lùkǒu
Corner	拐角	guǎijiǎo
Street corner	街口	jiē kǒu
Crosswalk/Zebra crossing	斑马线	bānmǎxiàn
Overpass	天桥	tiānqiáo
Sign	指示牌	zhǐshì pái
Parking spot	停车位	tíngchē wèi
Newspaper stand	报亭	bàotíng
U-turn	掉头	U-turn

Inside a Building

English	Chinese	Pinyin
Main Gate	大门	dàmén
Elevator/Escalator	电梯	diàntī
Stairs	楼梯	lóutī
Restroom	洗手间	xǐshǒujiān
Information Desk	问询处	wènxún chù
Emergency Exit	太平门	tàipíngmén

Distance Phrases

English	Chinese	Pinyin
Near	靠近	kàojìn
Far	远	yuǎn
Between	之间	zhījiān
Nearby	附近	fùjìn
Away	离开	líkāi

Direction Phrases

English	Chinese	Pinyin
on the left/right side of ___	在 ___ (的) 左/右边	zài ___ (de) zuǒ / yòubiān
in front of/behind ___	在 ___ (的) 前/后面	zài ___ (de) qián / hòumian
in the inside/outside of ___	在 ___ (的) 里/外面	zài ___ (de) lǐ / wàimian
under/on top of ___	在 ___ (的) 上/下面	zài ___ (de) shàng / xiàmian
next to ___	在 ___ (的) 旁边	zài ___ (de) pángbiān
across the road from ___	在 ___ (的) 对面	zài ___(de) duìmiàn
between ___	在 ___ 之间	zài ___ zhījiān
___ meters away from here	离这里 ___ 米	lí zhèli ___ mǐ
___ minutes’ ride away from here	离这里 ___ 分钟车程	lí zhèli ___ fēnzhōng chē chéng

Asking & Getting Directions

Learning words and very short phrases alone is not enough.

You will need to learn how to use these phrases in asking or giving the directions when required.

There are many ways in everyday usage in which you can ask/give directions, and it’s not possible to mention all variations.

However, the following table will fulfil the needs for most.

English	Chinese	Pinyin
Is there a bus station near here?	这附近有公共汽车站吗？	Zhè fùjìn yǒu gōnggòng qìchē zhàn ma?
The bus stop is in front of the bank.	公共汽车站在银行的前面	gōnggòng qìchē zhàn zài yínháng de qiánmiàn
Go straight and then turn right at the second traffic light	直行，然后在第二个红绿灯处右转	Zhíxíng, ránhòu zài dì èr gè hónglǜdēng chù yòu zhuǎn
Then take a left at the book store on the corner. The bank will be on your right hand side.	然后在拐角处的书店左转。银行就在你的右手边。	Ránhòu zài guǎijiǎo chǔ de shūdiàn zuǒ zhuǎn. Yínháng jiù zài nǐ de yòushǒu biān.
Where is the restroom?	洗手间在哪里?	Xǐshǒujiān zài nǎlǐ?
Where is the nearest Subway Station?	最近的地铁站在哪里？	Zuìjìn dì dìtiě zhàn zài nǎlǐ?
Where is the closest convenience store?	最近的便利店在哪里?	Zuìjìn de biànlì diàn zài nǎlǐ
I’m lost. Can you help me?	我迷路了。你能帮助我吗？	Wǒ mílùle. Nǐ néng bāngzhù wǒ ma?

Summary

Hopefully the ables above have got you covered when it comes to asking for and giving directions in Mandarin Chinese.

Learning the above phrases and making use of map apps mean you’ll never get lost in China or Taiwan ever again!

If you’re looking for more resources for learning Mandarin Chinese, check out some of the links below.

再见!