01
der Südwest
southwest
The compass direction exactly between south and west.
example
Das Fenster meines Zimmers ist nach Südwest ausgerichtet.
The window of my room faces southwest.
der Südwest
southwest
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Meanings
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Usage tips
Compound word
The word is simply made up of the compass directions 'Süd' (south) and 'West' (west). This pattern applies to all intercardinal directions, such as 'Nordost' (northeast) or 'Südost' (southeast).
EXAMPLE
Der Vogelzug folgt der Route von Nordost nach Südwest.
The bird migration follows the route from northeast to southwest.
Grammatical pattern
All compass directions are masculine in German. Therefore it is always 'der Südwest' (the southwest), just like 'der Norden' (the north), 'der Osten' (the east), or 'der Südosten' (the southeast).
EXAMPLE
Der Kompass zeigt genau nach Norden.
The compass points exactly north.
Prepositions and direction
To indicate a direction or orientation, 'Südwest' (southwest) is often used with the preposition 'nach' (to/toward). To describe a location, you can use 'in' or 'im' (in the).
EXAMPLE
Die Terrasse ist nach Südwest ausgerichtet.
The terrace faces southwest.
Context clue
To distinguish the meanings: when 'Südwest' (southwest) is the subject with weather verbs such as 'wehen' (to blow) or 'bringen' (to bring), the wind is meant. When it is connected with a genitive or 'von' (of/from), a region is meant.
EXAMPLE
Der Südwest weht heute sehr stark.
The southwest wind is blowing very strongly today.
Compare with
Südwest vs Südwesten
southwest
'der Südwesten' and 'der Südwest' can both mean the direction between south and west or a region in that direction. In many geographical sentences, they are very similar. In everyday language, 'der Südwesten' often sounds a little more complete and is very common when talking about parts of a country. 'der Südwest' is shorter and can also mean a region, but it sometimes sounds a bit more concise or technical, for example in weather reports or map references. They are easy to confuse because they look almost the same. The important point is: in the meaning of a direction or area, they usually mean the same thing; 'Südwest' can additionally refer to a wind, but that is not the shared usage here.
Südwest
Auf der Karte ist der Südwest der Region grün markiert.
On the map, the southwest of the region is marked in green.
Südwesten
Viele Gäste kommen im Sommer in den Südwesten Deutschlands.
Many guests come to the southwest of Germany in summer.
In real life
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