北ほく東とう

also: きたひがし

ほ

く

と

う

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

noun, noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no'

northeast

Refers to the compass direction or a location in the northeast. Can be used as a noun or with の to modify another noun.

風かぜは北ほく東とうから吹ふいている。
The wind is blowing from the northeast.
この町まちの北ほく東とう部ぶには大おおきな公こう園えんがある。
There is a large park in the northeastern part of this town.

See all 20 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

〈場ば所しょ〉の北ほく東とうに〈場ば所しょ〉があるX is located to the northeast of Y
その町まちは駅えきの北ほく東とうにある。
The town is located to the northeast of the station.
北ほく東とうの風かぜa northeast wind
今日きょうは北ほく東とうの風かぜが強つよい。
The northeast wind is strong today.
〈場ば所しょ〉から北ほく東とうへ進すすむto head northeast from a place
船ふねは港みなとから北ほく東とうへ進すすんだ。
The ship headed northeast from the harbor.

Kanji

北north
東east

Opposites

南なん西せいN1
北東 means "northeast" while 南西 means "southwest," the diametrically opposite compass direction.
西せい南なん
北東 (northeast) is the direct compass opposite of 西南 (southwest).

Don't confuse with

北ほく西せいN1
北東 (northeast) and 北西 (northwest) share the kanji 北 and are easy to mix up because they differ only in the second character.
南なん東とうN1
北東 (northeast) and 南東 (southeast) share the kanji 東 and can be confused since only the first character differs.
北ほく北ほく東とう
北東 means due northeast (45°), while 北北東 is the finer intermediate direction (22.5°) between north and northeast, so learners often mix up which is more northerly.
東とう北ほく
北東 is the standard word for the compass direction 'northeast', whereas 東北 usually refers to the Tōhoku region and is less common as a plain direction word.

Word family

東とう北ほく東とう
east-northeast; ENE
北ほく北ほく東とう
north-northeast; north-north-east
北ほく東とう部ぶ
northeastern part; the northeast

Written forms

北東Usage100%
- ほくとう
  Standard kanji spelling; the most common reading is ほくとう.
- きたひがし
  Alternate reading; less common and may be considered nonstandard or dialectal. Included for recognition.
きたひがし

Etymology

Compound of 北 (north) and 東 (east). The reading ほくとう is the standard Sino-Japanese on'yomi combination, while きたひがし uses the native kun'yomi readings.