Compass Rose — 8-Point (detailed) — free printable diagram

What the 8 points of a compass rose mean

This is an 8-point compass rose. Reading clockwise from the top it shows N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, NW, with 45° of turn between one point and the next.

Points on this rose

8

Clockwise from north

N · NE · E · SE · S · SW · W · NW

Turn between neighbouring points

45°

Cardinal directions

North, East, South, West

Bearing of each cardinal

N 0° (or 360°) · E 90° · S 180° · W 270°

Intercardinal directions

North-east, south-east, south-west, north-west — halfway between the cardinals, at 45°, 135°, 225° and 315°

• A compass rose shows which way is which on a map. The four cardinal directions are north, east, south, west — and reading them clockwise from the top of the map gives them in exactly that order, which is what the mnemonic "Never Eat Shredded Wheat" is for.
• Every point on a rose is an equal turn from the next. With 8 points that turn is 360° ÷ 8 = 45°, which is why an 8-point rose can describe a direction to within 45°.
• North on a map is not the same as north in the room. Maps are drawn with north at the top by convention, so a compass rose tells you how the map is oriented, and it is the rose rather than the top of the page that you read a direction from.
• The intercardinal (or ordinal) directions sit exactly between two cardinals and are named after both, nearer one first: north-east is between north and east, at 45°. That naming rule is what lets a 16-point rose add NNE — "north-north-east", between north and north-east.