also: にしきた
noun
Cardinal direction; used in weather forecasts, geography, and navigation.
風は西北から吹いている。
The wind is blowing from the northwest.
この町の西北には大きな公園がある。
There is a large park to the northwest of this town.
Rare kun-reading variant; may appear in proper nouns or older texts.
Also means northwest, but 北西 is the more common term in modern Japanese. 西北 is slightly more formal or literary.
Compound of 西 (west) and 北 (north), following the traditional East Asian order of directions.