Bearing to Compass Point Converter

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.

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.