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The four cardinal directions are the directions **north** , **east** ,
**south** , and **west**. The intermediate directions are **northeast** ,
**southeast** , **southwest** , and **northwest**. In English it would be
incorrect to say _eastnorth_ , for example. But in Japanese 東北 (literally
_eastnorth_ ) and 西北 (literally _westnorth_ ) are quite right _(BUT 南東 and
南西!)_

Which directions are considered primary and intermediate in Japan? If
everything is just the same as in the West, why do we say 東北, not 北東, and 西北
instead of 北西?

Thank you!
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question
words
Cardinal and intermediate directions
it appears that the directional variation you've noticed is simply, as Leebo
pointed out in the comments, a matter of regional names vs. directions.

<https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Japanese/Vocabulary/Direction>

technically, the region name 東北 does in fact indicate a direction, as you
would not expect to find such a region anywhere but to the east and north of
the country. But the "reverse order" of the kanji in its name allows instant
clarity as to the fact that what is being discussed is that entire specific
region, and not simply something to your personal north east, or just
"somewhere in the north east" area of Japan.

A search for information on compass directions in Japanese yields many pages,
some simple, and some more helpful. One example of a simple page with a nice
graphic:

<https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2017/03/north-west-south-east-cardinal-
directions.html>
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answer
Sometimes confusion arises because there are two different systems of
classifying cardinal directions in Japanese. There is a system which uses the
Western style of emphasizing **North/South** as the first part of the word.
This is the dominant system in Japan now. But there is also a system which
apparently originated in China which emphasizes **East/West** in the first
part of the word. This is disappearing and some of the cardinal points are not
used much (if ever) now. Here is how the two systems differ.

> **Western System**
>
> **N** 北  
>  **NE** 北東  
>  **E** 東  
>  **SE** 南東  
>  **S** 南  
>  **SW** 南西  
>  **W** 西  
>  **NW** 北西

.................................................................

> **'Chinese' System**
>
> **N** 北  
>  **NE** 東北  
>  **E** 東  
>  **SE** 東南  
>  **S** 南  
>  **SW** 西南  
>  **W** 西  
>  **NW** 西北

As mentioned, the Western system is dominant but there are cases where the
Chinese system is still used. For example, you get names like 東北 and 東南アジア
whereas the term 西南 isn’t in everyday use. I think you will still find all the
'Chinese style' directions listed in a dictionary, but they have been
superseded by the Western system for the most part.
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answer