dōng nán
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东南亚 (dōngnán yà)
Southeast Asia
东南方向 (dōngnán fāngxiàng)
southeast direction
西北 (xīběi)
northwest
西南 (xīnán)
southwest
The Chinese word 东南 (dōngnán) for "southeast" is composed of two characters: 东 (dōng) meaning "east" and 南 (nán) meaning "south". The character 东 is derived from the oracle bone script depicting the sun rising over the horizon, while the character 南 is derived from the oracle bone script depicting a person standing under a tree, with the sun in the south. The combination of these two characters to form 东南 thus represents the direction of southeast, where the sun rises in the east and shines on the south.
