The four main directions are:

• North — in Arabic: الشَّمَالُ (ash-shamālu)
• South — in Arabic: الْجَنُوبُ (al-janūbu)
• East — in Arabic: الشَّرْقُ (ash-sharqu)
• West — in Arabic: الْغَرْبُ (al-gharbu)

These four directions are also called basic directions or الْجِهَاتُ الْأَسَاسِيَّةُ (al-jihātul-asāsiyah).

To describe the boundary of a place, we look at what is located on each side of it. We use sentences like:

• "The school is north of the market."
• "The lake is south of the mountain."
• "The hospital is east of the mosque."
• "The park is west of the road."

Important Vocabulary

Look at this example using Tanzanian places:

Question: Where is Lake Victoria located relative to Tanzania?

Answer: تَقَعُ بَحيرَةُ فِيكْتُورْيَا شَمَالَ دَوْلَةِ تَنْزَانْيَا. (Lake Victoria is located north of Tanzania.)

Another example:

Question: Where is Zanzibar located relative to the mainland of Tanzania?

Answer: تَقَعُ زِنْجِبارُ شَرْقَ الْبَرِّ الْأَسَاسِيِّ. (Zanzibar is located east of the mainland.)

Here are some sentences to practice describing boundaries:

1. تَقَعُ مَدْرَسَتُنَا جَنُوبَ الْمَسْجِدِ. (Our school is located south of the mosque.)

2. يَقَعُ السُّوقُ شَمَالَ الْمَدْرَسَةِ. (The market is located north of the school.)

3. تَقَعُ الْمَشْفَى شَرْقَ الْبَنْكِ. (The hospital is located east of the bank.)

4. يَقَعُ الْمَطْعَمُ غَرْبَ الطَّرِيقِ. (The restaurant is located west of the road.)

When someone asks you about the location of a place, follow these steps:

1. Identify the place you are describing.
2. Find the reference point (the place you are comparing to).
3. Choose the correct direction (north, south, east, or west).
4. Form your sentence using the pattern: [Place] + يَقَعُ/تَقَعُ + [direction] + بَ + [reference place].

Example Questions and Answers

Question: أَيْنَ يَقَعُ الْمَطْعَمُ؟ (Where is the restaurant located?)

Answer: يَقَعُ الْمَطْعَمُ شَمَالَ الْمَدْرَسَةِ. (The restaurant is located north of the school.)

Question: مَا جِهَةُ الْمَسْجِدِ مِنَ الْمَدْرَسَةِ؟ (What is the direction of the mosque from the school?)

Answer: الْمَسْجِدُ جَنُوبُ الْمَدْرَسَةِ. (The mosque is south of the school.)

• The four cardinal directions are: North (شَمَالٌ), South (جَنُوبٌ), East (شَرْقٌ), and West (غَرْبٌ).
• To describe boundaries, we say what is located on each side of a place.
• We use يَقَعُ (for masculine) or تَقَعُ (for feminine) to show location.
• Always state the direction first, then the reference point.

Try to describe where these places are located:

1. The bank is north of the market.
2. The hospital is south of the school.
3. Zanzibar is east of the mainland.
4. The park is west of the mosque.

In everyday life in Tanzania, you use directions to describe locations when giving directions to visitors, when asking for directions in town, or when describing where your village or home is located relative to nearby landmarks. For example, if a tourist asks how to reach Serengeti from Ngorongoro, you can say the Serengeti is located to the south of Ngorongoro, helping them travel in the right direction.