Cardinal direction
![A compass rose showing the four cardinal directions, the four intercardinal directions, plus eight further divisions.](/Images/godic/202501/20/Brosen_windrose.svg4333.png")
![Latitude circles near the North Pole are shown in red. For A and B to face each other, A has to look East but B not to the West. If B were to look West, she would see a bear eyeing her as his next meal. For A and C to face each other, both would have to face North.](/Images/godic/202501/20/Polar_bears_near_the_Pole4333.PNG")
![A method to identify north and south directions using the sun and a 12-hour analogue clock or watch set to the local time, 10:10 a.m. in this example.](/Images/godic/202501/20/Using_watch_and_sun_as_compass.svg4333.png")
![Specialized 24-hour watch with compass card dial](/Images/godic/202501/20/Direction_Watch4333.jpg")
The four cardinal directions or cardinal points are the directions of north, east, south, and west, commonly denoted by their initials: N, E, S, W. East and west are at right angles to north and south, with east being in the clockwise direction of rotation from north and west being directly opposite east. Intermediate points between the four cardinal directions form the points of the compass. The intermediate (intercardinal, or ordinal) directions are northeast (NE), southeast (SE), southwest (SW), and northwest (NW). Further, the intermediate direction of every set of intercardinal and cardinal direction is called a secondary-intercardinal direction, the eight shortest points in the compass rose to the right, i.e. NNE, ENE, ESE, and so on.