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North, south, east, west: 'im Norden', 'nach Norden', 'aus Norden'

German compass points such as Norden, Süden, Osten and Westen come with three fixed patterns. For location you use im: im Norden. For movement you use nach with no article: nach Norden. For origin you use aus, usually without an article: aus Norden. Once you know these three chunks, you can talk about where something is, where it is going and where it comes from.

English speakers often stumble here because English is not a reliable guide. We say in the north but go north with no preposition at all, so learners produce things like in Norden or zu Norden. To make it trickier, German sometimes does use the article, for example when you mean a region you travel to rather than a pure direction.

Word list
NordenmA2 north im Norden, nach Norden, aus Norden OstenmA2 east im Osten, nach Osten, aus Osten SüdenmA2 south im Süden, nach Süden, aus Süden WestenmA2 west im Westen, nach Westen, aus Westen NordostenmB1 northeast im Nordosten, nach Nordosten, aus Nordosten NordwestenmB1 northwest im Nordwesten, nach Nordwesten, aus Nordwesten SüdostenmB1 southeast im Südosten, nach Südosten, aus Südosten SüdwestenmB1 southwest im Südwesten, nach Südwesten, aus Südwesten
How it works

All compass points in German are masculine: der Norden, der Südwesten and so on. That matters for the first pattern:

Where?

im + compass point. Im is short for in dem, so the article is actually there, hidden inside the short form: im Osten (in the east).

Where to?

nach + compass point, no article: nach Osten (east, eastwards). This is the same nach you use with most countries and cities.

Where from?

aus or von + compass point, no article: aus Osten, von Osten (from the east). This is typical for wind, weather and traffic.

Wir wohnen im Süden, fahren aber morgen nach Norden.
(We live in the south but are heading north tomorrow.)
Der Wind kommt aus Nordwesten.
(The wind is coming from the northwest.)

Rule of thumb: im for where, nach for where to, aus or von for where from. Learn them as fixed chunks, just like you learn nach Hause.

The words

The four main points are Norden, Osten, Süden and Westen. They are the ones you will need first, for example to describe where a city lies or which way the sun moves.

Hamburg liegt im Norden von Deutschland.
(Hamburg is in the north of Germany.)
Die Sonne geht im Osten auf.
(The sun rises in the east.)
Im Herbst fliegen viele Vögel nach Süden.
(In autumn, many birds fly south.)
Das schlechte Wetter kommt meistens aus Westen.
(The bad weather usually comes from the west.)

The in-between points are simply two words joined together: Nordosten, Nordwesten, Südosten and Südwesten. They are also masculine and follow exactly the same three patterns. You will hear them a lot in weather forecasts.

Im Nordosten bleibt es heute kalt und trocken.
(In the northeast it will stay cold and dry today.)
Bremen liegt im Nordwesten von Deutschland.
(Bremen is in the northwest of Germany.)
Das Gewitter zieht langsam nach Südosten.
(The thunderstorm is slowly moving southeast.)
Nach dem Dorf führt der Weg nach Südwesten.
(After the village, the path leads southwest.)
Watch out
Direction or region?

Nach Süden is a pure direction: southwards. When you think of the south as a place you travel to, such as warm holiday countries, German often says in den Süden, with the article. The same goes for origin: people usually come aus dem Osten (from the eastern region), while wind comes aus Osten. This is a tendency, not a strict law, so treat it as a helpful hint.

Im Sommer fahren wir immer in den Süden.
(In summer we always go down south.)
Meine Großeltern kommen aus dem Osten.
(My grandparents come from the east.)
Inside or outside?

Im Norden Deutschlands (or im Norden von Deutschland) means the northern part of Germany, inside the country. If something lies outside, to the north of it, use the adjective form: nördlich von Deutschland.

Kiel liegt im Norden Deutschlands, Dänemark liegt nördlich von Deutschland.
(Kiel is in the north of Germany, Denmark is north of Germany.)
The typical mistake

Saying in Norden for location. Remember that the article is there, hidden in im. Also avoid zu Norden: for directions, German uses nach, or in Richtung Norden (towards the north).

Summary

Think of three fixed chunks: im Norden for where something is (the article is hidden in im), nach Norden for where something is going, and aus Norden or von Norden for where it comes from, both without an article. Swap in any compass point, from Osten to Südwesten. When you mean a region rather than a direction, the article often appears (in den Süden, aus dem Osten), and for places outside an area use nördlich von.