Directions in Punjabi: Left, Right, Straight, Near, Far — and How to Ask "Where Is…?"

In Punjabi, left is khabbe (ਖੱਬੇ), right is sajje (ਸੱਜੇ), straight is sidha (ਸਿੱਧਾ), near is nede (ਨੇੜੇ) and far is door (ਦੂਰ). To ask where something is, put kithe hai? after it: Gurdwara kithe hai? (ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ ਕਿੱਥੇ ਹੈ?). To give directions: Sidha jao (go straight), Sajje mudo (turn right), Khabbe mudo (turn left). Here are all the direction and position words, the places you'll ask for, and the phrases for both asking and giving the way — including the ones you'll need when your dad is navigating from the passenger seat.

Direction and Position Words

English	Punjabi	Gurmukhi	Pronunciation
Right	Sajje	ਸੱਜੇ	SUJ-jay
Left	Khabbe	ਖੱਬੇ	KHUB-bay
Straight	Sidha	ਸਿੱਧਾ	SID-dhaa
Ahead, in front	Agge	ਅੱਗੇ	UG-gay
Behind, back	Pichhe	ਪਿੱਛੇ	PICH-chhay
Opposite, facing	Saamne	ਸਾਹਮਣੇ	SAAM-nay
Next to, near, by	Kol	ਕੋਲ	kol
Near, close	Nede	ਨੇੜੇ	NAY-day
Far	Door	ਦੂਰ	door
Up, above	Upar	ਉੱਪਰ	UP-pur
Down, below	Thalle	ਥੱਲੇ	THUL-lay
Inside	Andar	ਅੰਦਰ	UN-dur
Outside	Baahar	ਬਾਹਰ	BAA-hur
In / on	Vich / te	ਵਿੱਚ / 'ਤੇ	vich / tay
Between, in the middle	Vichkaar	ਵਿਚਕਾਰ	vich-KAAR
Side (on the right side)	Paase (sajje paase)	ਪਾਸੇ (ਸੱਜੇ ਪਾਸੇ)	PAA-say
Turn, bend	Modh	ਮੋੜ	modh
Roundabout, intersection	Chowk	ਚੌਕ	chauk
Corner	Nukkad	ਨੁੱਕੜ	NUK-kud
Here / there / where	Ethe / othe / kithe	ਇੱਥੇ / ਉੱਥੇ / ਕਿੱਥੇ	IT-thay / UT-thay / KIT-thay
This way / that way / which way	Edhar / odhar / kidhar	ਏਧਰ / ਓਧਰ / ਕਿੱਧਰ	AY-dhur / O-dhur / KID-dhur
North / south / east / west	Uttar / dakkhan / poorab / pachham	ਉੱਤਰ / ਦੱਖਣ / ਪੂਰਬ / ਪੱਛਮ	UT-tur / DUK-khun / POO-rub / PUCH-chhum
Right hand / left hand	Sajja haath / khabba haath	ਸੱਜਾ ਹੱਥ / ਖੱਬਾ ਹੱਥ	SUJ-jaa haath / KHUB-baa haath
Left-handed person	Khabbu	ਖੱਬੂ	KHUB-boo

Punjabi puts these words after the noun they relate to, with de in between: bank de saamne (opposite the bank), gurdware de kol (next to the gurdwara), ghar de pichhe (behind the house), mez de thalle (under the table).

Places Around Town

English	Punjabi	Gurmukhi	Pronunciation
Road / lane	Sadak / gali	ਸੜਕ / ਗਲੀ	SUD-uk / GUL-ee
Bridge	Pul	ਪੁਲ	pul
Bus stand / station	Bus adda / station	ਬੱਸ ਅੱਡਾ / ਸਟੇਸ਼ਨ	buss UD-daa
Airport	Hawai adda / airport	ਹਵਾਈ ਅੱਡਾ	ha-VAA-ee UD-daa
Hospital	Haspataal	ਹਸਪਤਾਲ	hus-pa-TAAL
Gurdwara / temple / mosque / church	Gurdwara / mandir / masjid / girja	ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ / ਮੰਦਰ / ਮਸਜਿਦ / ਗਿਰਜਾ	MUN-dir / MUS-jid / GIR-jaa
School / college	School / college	ਸਕੂਲ / ਕਾਲਜ	—
Bank / post office	Bank / dakkhaana	ਬੈਂਕ / ਡਾਕਖ਼ਾਨਾ	daak-KHAA-naa
Police station	Thaana	ਥਾਣਾ	THAA-naa
Market / shop	Bazaar / dukaan	ਬਜ਼ਾਰ / ਦੁਕਾਨ	ba-ZAAR / du-KAAN
Petrol station	Petrol pump	ਪੈਟਰੋਲ ਪੰਪ	—
Park	Park / baag	ਪਾਰਕ / ਬਾਗ਼	baag
Restaurant / roadside eatery	Restaurant / dhaba	ਰੈਸਟੋਰੈਂਟ / ਢਾਬਾ	DHAA-baa
Hotel	Hotel	ਹੋਟਲ	—
House / home	Ghar	ਘਰ	ghur
Village / city	Pind / shehar	ਪਿੰਡ / ਸ਼ਹਿਰ	pind / SHEH-ur
Toilet	Bathroom / gusalkhana	ਬਾਥਰੂਮ / ਗ਼ੁਸਲਖ਼ਾਨਾ	gu-sul-KHAA-naa

Asking for Directions

English	Punjabi	Gurmukhi
Where is the gurdwara?	Gurdwara kithe hai?	ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ ਕਿੱਥੇ ਹੈ?
Where is the bathroom?	Bathroom kithe hai?	ਬਾਥਰੂਮ ਕਿੱਥੇ ਹੈ?
Is there a bank near here?	Ethe nede koi bank hai?	ਇੱਥੇ ਨੇੜੇ ਕੋਈ ਬੈਂਕ ਹੈ?
Where does this road go?	Eh sadak kithe jaandi hai?	ਇਹ ਸੜਕ ਕਿੱਥੇ ਜਾਂਦੀ ਹੈ?
How far is it?	Kinni door hai?	ਕਿੰਨੀ ਦੂਰ ਹੈ?
Can we walk there?	Paidal ja sakde haan?	ਪੈਦਲ ਜਾ ਸਕਦੇ ਹਾਂ?
Which bus goes to the station?	Kehdi bus station jaandi hai?	ਕਿਹੜੀ ਬੱਸ ਸਟੇਸ਼ਨ ਜਾਂਦੀ ਹੈ?
I'm lost (m / f)	Main gum ho gaya / gayi haan	ਮੈਂ ਗੁੰਮ ਹੋ ਗਿਆ / ਗਈ ਹਾਂ
Please tell me the way	Mainu rasta dasso ji	ਮੈਨੂੰ ਰਸਤਾ ਦੱਸੋ ਜੀ
Is this the right way?	Eh rasta theek hai?	ਇਹ ਰਸਤਾ ਠੀਕ ਹੈ?

Giving Directions

English	Punjabi	Gurmukhi
Go straight	Sidha jao	ਸਿੱਧਾ ਜਾਓ
Turn right / turn left	Sajje mudo / khabbe mudo	ਸੱਜੇ ਮੁੜੋ / ਖੱਬੇ ਮੁੜੋ
Right at the next turn	Agle modh te sajje	ਅਗਲੇ ਮੋੜ 'ਤੇ ਸੱਜੇ
Left at the roundabout	Chowk ton khabbe	ਚੌਕ ਤੋਂ ਖੱਬੇ
Cross the bridge	Pul paar karo	ਪੁਲ ਪਾਰ ਕਰੋ
Opposite the bank	Bank de saamne	ਬੈਂਕ ਦੇ ਸਾਹਮਣੇ
Next to the gurdwara	Gurdware de kol	ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰੇ ਦੇ ਕੋਲ
Behind the school	School de pichhe	ਸਕੂਲ ਦੇ ਪਿੱਛੇ
It's very near	Bahut nede hai	ਬਹੁਤ ਨੇੜੇ ਹੈ
It's two minutes away	Do mint door hai	ਦੋ ਮਿੰਟ ਦੂਰ ਹੈ
It's on the right side	Sajje paase hai	ਸੱਜੇ ਪਾਸੇ ਹੈ
Upstairs / downstairs	Upar / thalle	ਉੱਪਰ / ਥੱਲੇ
Go back	Pichhe jao	ਪਿੱਛੇ ਜਾਓ
Come this way	Edhar aao	ਏਧਰ ਆਓ

In the Car With a Punjabi Navigator

English	Punjabi	Gurmukhi
Turn from here	Ethon mud ja	ਇੱਥੋਂ ਮੁੜ ਜਾ
Slowly! Slow down	Hauli! Hauli chalao	ਹੌਲੀ! ਹੌਲੀ ਚਲਾਓ
Stop here	Ethe rok	ਇੱਥੇ ਰੋਕ
Park the car here	Gaddi ethe laa deo	ਗੱਡੀ ਇੱਥੇ ਲਾ ਦਿਓ
Take a U-turn	Pichhe mudo	ਪਿੱਛੇ ਮੁੜੋ
Keep going straight	Sidhe jaande raho	ਸਿੱਧੇ ਜਾਂਦੇ ਰਹੋ
You missed the turn	Modh langh gaya	ਮੋੜ ਲੰਘ ਗਿਆ
Watch out, there's a speed bump	Dhyaan naal, breaker hai	ਧਿਆਨ ਨਾਲ, ਬ੍ਰੇਕਰ ਹੈ
We've arrived	Pahunch gaye	ਪਹੁੰਚ ਗਏ

You will hear sajje! sajje! a second after the turn has passed. This is tradition. For the question words behind all of this (kithe, kidhar, kinni door), see Punjabi question words; for the places you're heading to, our guides to visiting a gurdwara and shopping in Punjabi; and for a trip to Punjab itself, essential phrases for travellers.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you say left and right in Punjabi?

Left is khabbe (ਖੱਬੇ) and right is sajje (ਸੱਜੇ). "Turn left" is khabbe mudo, "turn right" is sajje mudo, and "on the right" is sajje paase.

How do you ask "where is" in Punjabi?

Say the place, then kithe hai?: Gurdwara kithe hai? — where is the gurdwara? For "is there a … near here?" say Ethe nede koi … hai?

How do you say "go straight" in Punjabi?

Sidha jao (ਸਿੱਧਾ ਜਾਓ). "Keep going straight" is sidhe jaande raho; "straight ahead" is sidha agge.

What is "right hand" in Punjabi?

Sajja haath (ਸੱਜਾ ਹੱਥ); the left hand is khabba haath (ਖੱਬਾ ਹੱਥ), and a left-handed person is a khabbu.

Find Your Way in Punjabi

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