Position and Direction Words in Chinese

In Chinese, the positional and direction words can be divided into two types: simple words and compound words.

The simple words are "上up, 下down, 前front, 后back, 左left, 右right, 东east, 西west, 南south, 北north, 里inside, 外outside etc.

The compound words are composed of simple words in the following manner:

(a) Add 以 or 之 in front. For example, 以上(Above), 之下(Under).

(b) Add 边, 面 and 头 afterwards. Such as: 前边(Front), 左面(Left), 里头(Inside).

(c) Opposition. For example, 上下(up and down), 前后(front and back), 里外(inside and outside).

(d) Others. For example, 底下(underneath), 头里(in the head), 当中(in the middle).