HesapHanem

Bearing to Compass Point Converter

The nearest of 16 compass points for any bearing, wrapped into 0 to 360.

How it is calculated

The tool first wraps the bearing into the range 0° to under 360°, so 365 becomes 5° and −90 becomes 270°. The circle is divided into 16 points of 22.5° each, listed clockwise from north: N, NNE, NE, ENE, E, ESE, SE, SSE, S, SSW, SW, WSW, W, WNW, NW, NNW. The point is found with index = round(bearing ÷ 22.5) mod 16. Each point therefore covers 11.25° either side of its centre (for example N covers 348.75° to 11.25°), and a bearing exactly on a boundary, such as 11.25°, goes to the next point clockwise. The labels are always the English letters, whatever language the page is in.

Worked example

A bearing of 207° is already between 0° and 360°, so the normalized value is 207.00°. Divide by 22.5: 207 ÷ 22.5 = 9.2, which rounds to 9. Counting from 0 (N, NNE, NE, ENE, E, ESE, SE, SSE, S), index 9 is SSW. Check: SSW is centred on 202.5°, and 207° is within 11.25° of that centre.

Try this example →

Common mistakes

  • Entering a compass direction in radians or in the 0° to 90° quadrant format used in surveying, such as N 30° E. The tool needs a single bearing from 0° to 360° clockwise from north.
  • Reading the result as a direction you must travel along. A bearing is a heading, and the 16-point label is rounded to the nearest 22.5°, so 207° and 202.5° both give SSW.
  • Mixing up true and magnetic north. The tool applies no declination, so convert a magnetic compass reading to true north first if your bearing is for a map.
  • Expecting a 32-point or 8-point answer. The rose here has exactly 16 points; 45° gives NE, but 22.5° gives NNE.

About this calculator

A bearing is a direction expressed as an angle from 0° to 360°, measured clockwise from true or magnetic north. A 16-point compass rose divides that full circle into sixteen 22.5° sectors — N, NNE, NE, ENE, E, ESE, SE, SSE, S, SSW, SW, WSW, W, WNW, NW and NNW — so any bearing can be rounded to the nearest named direction by finding which 22.5° sector it falls into.

Sailors, hikers, and pilots read a numeric bearing off a GPS unit or magnetic compass but often communicate direction verbally ("head northeast") rather than in degrees, so this converter bridges the two. Surveyors and orienteering competitors use the same mapping when plotting or calling out courses on a map.

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Comments (1)

  • Editorial team

    The tool names a 22.5 degree slice and does nothing about declination, so a magnetic reading stays magnetic. A bearing of 200 prints as SSW, but 11.25 sits exactly on a boundary and is reported as NNE, so readings near a slice edge can fall either way. For navigation, quote the numeric bearing and use the letters only as a quick label. Do you work with true or magnetic bearings?

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