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Scene illustrating a Traditional Chinese-language basic directions conversation

Key Phrases

左邊

zuǒ biān

Left side

就在這裡

jiù zài zhè lǐ

Right here

直走

zhí zǒu

Straight ahead

Skills You'll Learn

Giving directions

給予方向

gěi yǔ fāng xiàng

Locating places

找到地點

zhǎo dào dì diǎn

Understanding orientation

理解方位

lǐ jiě fāng wèi

Lesson Vocabulary & Phrases

◀️

左邊

zuǒ biān

Left side

💬 [邊] means "side," so you can build direction words with it: [左邊] "left side," [右邊] "right side," [前邊] "front."

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▶️

右邊

yòu biān

Right side

💬 [邊] means "side," and it combines easily with direction words: [右邊] "right side," [左邊] "left side," [旁邊] "beside."

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↩️

左轉

zuǒ zhuǎn

Left turn

💬 [轉] means "turn," so [左轉] and [右轉] are a useful pair for directions. You'll hear them both as commands and in route descriptions, like [前面左轉].

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↪️

右轉

yòu zhuǎn

Right turn

💬 [右轉] is built the same way as [左轉]: direction + [轉]. Once you know the pattern, you can swap the direction word easily.

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⬆️

直走

zhí zǒu

Straight ahead

💬 [直走] literally "go straight" is the natural way to say "keep going straight." The first part tells the manner, and [走] gives the movement, like [慢走] "walk slowly / take care."

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📍

就在這裡

jiù zài zhè lǐ

Right here

💬 [就] here adds the sense of "exactly" or "right," so [就在這裡] is stronger than plain [在這裡]. You can reuse this in places like [就在前面] "it's right up ahead."

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⬆️

北邊

běi biān

North

💬 With compass directions, [邊] gives the sense of "side" or "area," so [北邊] is "the north/northern side." You can swap in the others the same way: [南邊]、[東邊]、[西邊].

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⬇️

南邊

nán biān

South

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➡️

東邊

dōng biān

East

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🚀

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