Bearing to Compass Point Converter

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.