In this lesson, we cover directions in Spanish.
A direction in Spanish is “una dirección.” The word “una dirección” can also refer to an address of a house or a store. A map is “un mapa,” and a street is “una calle.” Let us look at more vocabulary related to directions in Spanish.
The four geographical directions of a compass or “una brújula” are:
| east | estem | south | surm sudm |
| north | nortem | west | oestem |
And the four main directions right, left, up, and down are:
| right | derecha | up | arriba |
| left | izquierda | down | abajo |
To describe the location of an object with respect to another, one can use one of the following:
| above on top (of) | sobre encima (de) | there | ahí allá allí |
| here | acá aquí | to the left of | a la izquierda de |
| inside | dentro (de) | to the right of | a la derecha de |
| near | cerca (de) | far (from) | lejos (de) |
| outside | fuera (de) | toward | hacia |
| straight ahead | derecho recto | under beneath | bajo debajo (de) |
“Here” vs. “There”
There is a subtle difference in Spanish between “aquí” and “acá” both translated as “here,” as “aquí” tends to be less specific about the location. However, this subtle difference is not often respected, and “acá” tends to be used more often in Latin America.
While “ahí,” “allí,” and “allá” all mean “there,” “ahí” is used more often for things that are within reach whereas “allí” and “allá” are sometimes better translated as “over there,” with “allá” being more popular than “allí” in Latin America.
Other lessons in Level III:
Level III – Elementary
3. The Verb “to Know”: “Saber” vs. “Conocer”
4. Indefinite Adjectives & Pronouns
7. Special Uses of “Haber” & “Tener”
8. Telling Time & Describing The Weather
9.1. The Adverbs “Tan,” “Solo,” “También,” “Tampoco,” “Vez,” and “Veces”
