Compass Directions and Degrees Explained

Compass directions describe where you are facing or where something lies relative to north. The four main directions are north, east, south and west. Compass degrees measure those directions clockwise: north is 0°, east 90°, south 180° and west 270°.

Want your current compass direction rather than a chart? Open the online compass on a compatible phone, start the sensor and read the heading. A diagram alone cannot tell which way you are facing.

The diagram puts north at the top as a reference. Your phone or physical compass can point in any direction; the heading describes the direction of its top edge or travel arrow.

Degrees go clockwise from north

A compass is a full circle of 360 degrees, measured clockwise starting from north:

• North = 0° (and 360°)
• East = 90°
• South = 180°
• West = 270°

These four are the cardinal directions. When Online Compass shows a heading of, say, 90°, you are facing due east.

The 8 principal directions

Halfway between each pair of cardinals sit the intercardinal (or ordinal) directions:

Direction	Abbreviation	Degrees
North	N	0°
Northeast	NE	45°
East	E	90°
Southeast	SE	135°
South	S	180°
Southwest	SW	225°
West	W	270°
Northwest	NW	315°

The full 16-point compass

For finer directions, each gap is split again into the secondary intercardinal points, giving 16 directions spaced 22.5° apart:

Direction	Degrees
N	0°
NNE	22.5°
NE	45°
ENE	67.5°
E	90°
ESE	112.5°
SE	135°
SSE	157.5°
S	180°
SSW	202.5°
SW	225°
WSW	247.5°
W	270°
WNW	292.5°
NW	315°
NNW	337.5°

Online Compass shows the nearest of these 16 points beside your exact degrees, so a heading of 340° reads as NNW.

What is a bearing?

A bearing is a direction expressed as an angle from 0° to 360°, measured clockwise from north. A heading is the direction you are pointing or traveling; a bearing can describe the direction from you to a landmark.

For example, a tower due east has a bearing of 090° from your position. A tower due southeast has a bearing of 135°. Leading zeroes in three-digit bearings do not change their value: 090° means 90°.

Before comparing readings, check whether both use magnetic north or true north. The degree scale is the same, but its reference can differ. Our magnetic vs. true north guide explains the distinction.

How to find your compass direction

1. Open the live compass and tap Start compass. Allow sensor access if prompted.
2. Hold your phone flat, away from magnets, speakers and metal furniture.
3. Point the top edge toward the direction you want to check.
4. Read the degrees and the named direction together. For example, 135° / SE means southeast.

Live readings require compatible hardware and browser support. Manual exploration lets you move a demonstration dial; it does not measure your real direction. See which direction am I facing? for troubleshooting.

What direction is between two compass points?

Between north and east is northeast, at 45°. Between east and south is southeast, at 135°. Each step around the eight-point compass is 45°; each step around the sixteen-point compass is 22.5°.

For example, 70° lies between northeast (45°) and east (90°). Its nearest sixteen-point name is east-northeast (ENE), whose central bearing is 67.5°. The name rounds a range of headings; the degree readout gives the more specific value.

How do you find the opposite direction?

Add 180°, then subtract 360° if the result reaches or exceeds 360°. This gives the reciprocal bearing.

• The opposite of 45° northeast is 225° southwest.
• The opposite of 270° west is 90° east.
• The opposite of 350° is 170°.

The calculation describes a direction, not a safe return route. Walking back along that bearing only retraces a straight segment if you start at its endpoint and have not detoured.

A quick way to estimate

If you only remember the four cardinals, you can still estimate any direction: north is 0°, and every 90° clockwise moves you to the next cardinal. Anything ending near 45°, 135°, 225° or 315° is a diagonal (NE, SE, SW, NW). With that, you can translate any heading on the readout into a direction you can picture instantly.

Practice with a reading

If a compass shows 225°, you are facing southwest. North is behind you and to your right, not necessarily at the top of your screen. Turn clockwise by 45° and the reading becomes 270°, west.

For the parts of a physical compass and illustrated reading steps, see how to read a compass. For taking a bearing and working with a map, continue to how to use a compass.