Basic directions: Directions

💬 側 means "side," and in compounds like 左側 and 右側 it's usually said (gawa), not the dictionary reading you might expect. You can reuse the pattern with other locations too, like 向こう側 for "the other side."

💬 側 means "side," and in compounds like 右側 and 左側 it's usually said (gawa), not the dictionary reading you might expect. You can reuse the pattern with other locations too, like 向こう側 for "the other side."

💬 折 here means "turn," so 左折 is literally "left turn." You'll see the same pattern in 右折 for "right turn," especially on signs and in driving directions.

💬 折 here means "turn," so 右折 is literally "right turn." You'll see the same pattern in 左折 for "left turn," especially on signs and in driving directions.

💬 進んで is the て form of 進む, which often links to what comes next: "go straight, and then…". In directions, まっすぐ often works like an adverb before the verb, as in まっすぐ行って too.

💬 ここ means "here," and に marks the place something is or goes, so ここに is literally "at/in here." You can swap in other place words the same way: そこに "there" and あそこに "over there."