东, 南, 西, 北 and 中间 for Directions
Say where places are with 东, 南, 西, 北 and 中间, and talk about regions with 北方, 南方, 东方 and 西方.
Pattern
place + 东/南/西/北 + 边; 往 + 东/南/西/北 + verb; A和B + 中间; 北方/南方/东方/西方
Add 边 to say which side of a place, 方 to name a whole region, and put 中间 after the things something is between.
学校在我家东边。
When to use 东, 南, 西, 北 and 中间 for Directions
东 (east), 南 (south), 西 (west) and 北 (north) are direction nouns. To say which side of a place, add 边 and put it after the place: 学校东边 “east of the school”. After 往 “toward”, the single character is enough: 往北走 “go north”. 中间 means “in the middle” or “between”, and it comes after the things: 我家和学校中间 “between my home and the school”.
往北走十分钟就到了。
Walk north for ten minutes and you’re there.
超市在银行和医院中间。
The supermarket is between the bank and the hospital.
照片中间的人是我妈妈。
The person in the middle of the photo is my mom.
北京在中国的北方。
Beijing is in the north of China.
Common traps
- Say 东北 for “northeast”, not 北东: in Chinese, 东 or 西 comes first.
- Say 我家北边有一个公园, not 我家北方有一个公园: use 边 for the side of one place and 方 for a whole region.
- Say 在银行和医院中间, not 在中间银行和医院: 中间 comes after the two things.
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