Directions in Japanese | Essential Vocabulary & Examples
Have you ever wanted to visit Japan and be able to navigate around to different places?
To do that, you’ll need to be able to ask for and understand directions!
If you get lost, knowing your migi (right) from your hidari (left) can help you find your back to your restaurant or hotel.
So pay close attention – this is an important lesson!
Let’s get learning!
Japanese Directions | Basic Directions
Japanese Directions | Driving Directions
Japanese Directions | Positions
Japanese Directions | Places
Japanese Directions | Sentence Examples
Japanese Directions | FAQ’s
Japanese Directions | Basic Directions
First, let’s start this lesson with basic Japanese directions.
Kanji | Hiragana | Romaji | English |
---|---|---|---|
北 | きた | kita | north |
南 | みなみ | minami | south |
西 | にし | nishi | west |
東 | ひがし | higashi | east |
北西 | ほくせい | hokusei | northwest |
北東 | ほくとう | hokutou | northwest |
南東 | なんとう | nantou | southeast |
南西 | なんせい | nansei | southwest |
地図 | ちず | chizu | map |
現在地 | げんざいち | genzaichi | current location |
Japanese Directions | Driving Directions
Knowing how to say directions in Japanese for the road, such as right and left in Japanese is also very useful.
The vocabulary below is essential for giving and receiving driving directions in Japanese:
Kanji | Hiragana | Romaji | English |
---|---|---|---|
前 | まえ | mae | front |
後ろ | うしろ | ushiro | back |
左 | ひだり | hidari | left |
右 | みぎ | migi | right |
遠い | とおい | tōi | far |
近い | ちかい | chikai | close |
ー | まっすぐ | massugu | straight |
隣 | となり | tonari | next to |
渡った | わたった | watatta | across |
交差点 | こうさてん | kousaten | intersection |
角を曲がる | かどをまがる | kado o magaru | turn the corner |
Japanese Directions | Positions
Japanese words that are used vaguely differ according to the position of speaker and listener.
Here’s a list.
Japanese | Romaji | English |
---|---|---|
ここ | koko | here |
そこ | soko | there |
あそこ | asoko | over there |
どこ | doko | where |
こちら | kochira | here (polite) |
そちら | sochira | there (polite) |
あちら | achira | over there (polite) |
どちら | dochira | where (polite), which |
これ | kore | this |
それ | sore | that |
あれ | are | that over there |
だれ | dare | who |
- ここ has the meaning of here and is close to the speaker.
- そこ means there and is close to whoever is listening.
- あそこ means over there and is far from those who speak and listen.
Kore, sore, are, and dare can be modified by replacing the final re with の (no) to specify an object.
It is important to note that kono, sono, ano, and dono cannot stand alone, they must be followed by a noun.
For example, while pointing at a watch you can ask:
Japanese | Romaji | English |
---|---|---|
これはいくらでうか。 | Kore wa ikura desu ka. | How much is this? |
Or, you can mention the noun, which is a watch, and ask its price:
Japanese | Romaji | English |
---|---|---|
このとけいはいくらですか。 | Kono tokei wa ikura desu ka. | How much is this watch? |
Here is a table with these modified versions of kore, sore, dare, and are:
Examples | Particle | Noun Modifier | Particle | Position |
---|---|---|---|---|
これ | (は~) | このnoun | (は~) | Close to the person speaking |
それ | (は~) | そのnoun | (は~) | Close to the person listening |
あれ | (は~) | あれnoun | (は~) | Far from both people |
どれ | (は~) | どのnoun | (は~) | Unknown (where) |
Japanese Directions | Places
Now, before looking at some examples, let’s learn some vocabulary for places.
Kanji | Hiragana | Romaji | English |
---|---|---|---|
— | うち | uchi | home |
部屋 | へや | heya | room |
学校 | がっこう | gakkou | school |
会社 | かいしゃ | kaisha | company |
— | コンビニ | konbini | convenience store |
銀行 | ぎんこう | ginkou | bank |
郵便局 | ゆうびんきょく | yuubinkyoku | post office |
事務所 | じむしょ | jimusho | office |
— | トイレ | toire | toilet, rest room |
会議室 | かいぎしつ | kaigishitsu | conference room, meeting room |
教室 | きょうしつ | kyoushitsu | classroom |
受付 | うけつけ | uketsuke | reception |
Even More Sentence Examples
There are many other ways to express positions in Japanese.
In order to accurately convey a position to others, it is a must to choose an appropriate positional expression depending on the situation.
Now, let’s practice the new vocabulary by looking at some example sentences that use these words:
Kanji | Hiragana | Romaji | English |
---|---|---|---|
車は、車庫の前に停めました。 | くるまは、しゃこのまえにとめました。 | Kuruma wa, shako no mae ni tomemashita. | The car parked in front of the garage. |
塩は、砂糖の後ろにあります。 | しおは、さとうのうしろにあります。 | Shio wa, satō no ushiro ni arimasu. | The salt is behind the sugar. |
ぼくの横に、犬がいます。 | ぼくのよこに、いぬがいます。 | Boku no yoko ni, inu ga imasu. | There’s a dog beside me. |
こんにちは、あなたの隣に座ってもいいですか。 | こんにちは、あなたのとなりにすわってもいいですか。 | Konnichiwa, anata no tonari ni suwatte mo iidesu ka? | Hello, can I sit next to you? |
床屋の右に、靴屋があります。 | とこやのみぎに、くつやがあります。 | Tokoya no migi ni, kutsuya ga arimasu. | There is a shoe store on the right side of the barber. |
韓国は、日本の左にあります。 | かんこくは、にほんのひだりにあります。 | Kankoku wa, Nihon no hidari ni arimasu. | South Korea is to the left of Japan. |
りんごは、棚の上にあります。 | りんごは、たなのうえにあります。 | Ringo wa, tana no ue ni arimasu. | The apples are on the shelves. |
この土の下に、ごみを埋めました。 | このつちのしたに、ごみをうめました。 | Kono tsuchi no shita ni, gomi wo ume mashita. | I buried garbage under this soil. |
食堂は、会社の中にあります。 | しょくどうは、かいしゃのなかにあります。 | Shokudō wa, kaisha no naka ni arimasu. | The cafeteria is inside the company. |
あなたは、お店の外で待っていてください。 | あなたは、おみせのそとでまっていてください。 | Anata wa, omise no soto de matteite kudasai. | Please wait outside the store. |
森の近くは、空気がきれいだ。 | もりのちかくは、くうきがきれいだ。 | Mori no chikaku wa, kūki ga kireida. | The air is clean near the forest. |
薬局の向かいの駐車場に、来てください。 | やっきょくのむかいのちゅうしゃじょうに、きてください。 | Yakkyoku no mukai no chūshajō ni, kite kudasai. | Please come to the parking lot opposite the pharmacy. |
Are you a Flexi Classes student already?
Learn more about Directions in Japanese in the following Flexi lesson:
How Can I Get There? (A1, Chapter 4)
Not a Flexi Student yet?
You now know how to talk about directions in Japanese!
If you are just starting on your Japanese learning journey, make sure to check out the following lessons:
- Introduction to Hiragana
- Introduction to Katakana
- Japanese numbers
- Japanese particles
- Japanese counters
- Dates in Japanese
- Japanese Sentence Structure
- Japanese Negative Form
- Telling time in Japanese
Don’t forget that we also offer a Free Trial for 3 hours of Japanese classes on our online platform Flexi Classes!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Why should I learn directions in Japanese?
To be able to navigate around Japan and visit different places without getting lost!
How do I say this one in Japanese?
This one is この・kono and must be followed by a noun ex: このぎんこう・kono ginkou (this bank).
How do I say far in Japanese?
Far is 遠い・とおい・tōi.
How do I say right and left in Japanese?
Right is 右(みぎ・migi) and left is 左(ひだり・hidari).
How do I say near in Japanese?
Near is 近い・ちかい・chikai.
What is map in Japanese?
Map is 地図・ちず・chizu.