What is east?

East is the direction where the sun comes up every morning.

Imagine you're standing in a big open field on a clear day. You look up at the sky, and right when you wake up, the sun starts to rise. That’s the east, it's the side of the world where the sun begins its journey across the sky.

Think about a clock face. If north is the top (like 12 o’clock), then east would be on your right hand, like 3 o'clock. So if you're facing north and turn to your right, that's where the sun comes up, that’s east.

If you’re playing with a toy car and you want it to go in the direction of the sunrise, you point it toward east. It's like telling your toy car, “Now go where the day starts!”