southeast
/sawˈθɪjst/noun, adjective, adverb
southeast is spelled S-O-U-T-H-E-A-S-T: 9 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 14 times per million words in written English, the 5,595th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “south-east vs southeast” about 20 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, southeast means “The intercardinal compass point halfway between east and south; specifically at a bearing of 135°” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of southeast is southeasts.
How many letters and syllables are in southeast?
| Letters | 9: S-O-U-T-H-E-A-S-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 14 times per million words; the 5,595th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How common is southeast?
Southeast appears 14 times per million words in written English, the 5,595th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce southeast?
- British /sawˈθɪjst/
Southeast has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-PerfectSoundWhatever-southeast.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with southeast
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Also written: sou'-east, south-east (one word or two).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of southeast
- southeasts plural
- south-east UK
- sou'-east
- more southeast comparative
- most southeast superlative
- further southeast comparative
- farther southeast comparative
- furthest southeast superlative
- farthest southeast superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does southeast mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The intercardinal compass point halfway between east and south; specifically at a bearing of 135°.
adjective
- 1
Of, in or pertaining to the southeast; southeastern.
- 2
Situated toward or in the direction of the southeast; southeastward; southeasterly.
A southeast course.
- 3
Coming from the southeast; southeasterly.
A southeast wind.
adverb
- 1
Towards or in the direction of the southeast; southeastwards.
We are travelling southeast at the moment.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate southeast?
Wiktionary records 3 abbreviations of southeast: SE, Se., se..
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Southeast in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense compass point:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | sud-est |
| German | Südosten |
| Portuguese | sudeste |
| Spanish | sudeste, sureste, sueste, sudoriente, suroriente |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does southeast come from?
From Middle English southest, from Old English sūþēast, equivalent to south + east.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).