Samochód jedzie na zachód.

A rough pronunciation is:

sa-MO-khoot YED-je na ZA-khoot

A few useful details:

• ch sounds like a harsh h, like the ch in German Bach or Scottish loch
• ó is pronounced like u
• dz in jedzie sounds like the ds in beds, but here it is softened by ie
• rz is not in this sentence, but learners sometimes expect it in words about directions, so it is good to notice that zachód has simple ch, not rz

A more natural connected pronunciation would be close to:

sa-MO-khoot YED-zye na ZA-khoot

Samochód is the subject of the sentence, so it is in the nominative case.

• dictionary form: samochód
• meaning: car

In Polish, the subject is normally in the nominative, just like in this sentence.

Jedzie is the 3rd person singular form of the verb jechać.

It means:

• is going
• is traveling
• is driving / riding
• goes, depending on context

A very important point: jechać is used for going by vehicle or some means of transport.

So for a car, jedzie is exactly what you would expect.

Compare:

• Samochód jedzie = The car is going / driving
• Człowiek idzie = The person is walking

Polish distinguishes between:

• iść / idzie = to go on foot
• jechać / jedzie = to go by vehicle / transport

Since a car does not walk, Polish uses jedzie, not idzie.

That is a very common distinction in Polish, and it is one English speakers often need time to get used to, because English uses go for both.

The preposition na can express direction toward something in many contexts. Here:

• na zachód = to the west / westward

So the structure is:

• jechać na + accusative = to go toward / in the direction of

This is a very natural Polish way to talk about direction.

Compare:

• na północ = northward / to the north
• na południe = southward / to the south
• na wschód = eastward / to the east
• na zachód = westward / to the west

In na zachód, the noun zachód is in the accusative case, because na here shows motion toward a direction.

However, zachód is a masculine inanimate noun, and in the singular, the accusative often looks exactly like the nominative.

So:

• nominative: zachód
• accusative: zachód

Same form, different grammatical role.

This is very common with masculine inanimate nouns in Polish.

This is an important contrast:

• na zachód = to the west / westward → direction, movement
• na zachodzie = in the west / in the western area → location

So:

• Samochód jedzie na zachód = The car is going west
• Samochód jest na zachodzie = The car is in the west

This is a common Polish pattern:

• motion often uses accusative
• location often uses locative

It can mean either, depending on context.

Polish does not have articles like a and the, so samochód by itself may be understood as:

• a car
• the car

The surrounding context tells you which is meant.

That is why a short Polish sentence can sometimes be translated into English in more than one natural way.

No, Polish word order is fairly flexible.

Samochód jedzie na zachód is the most neutral order here:

• Samochód = subject
• jedzie = verb
• na zachód = direction

But other orders are possible, for example:

• Na zachód jedzie samochód
• Jedzie na zachód samochód

These alternatives can sound more marked, poetic, or context-dependent. The neutral everyday version is the original one.

Because here it means the direction west, not a proper name.

So:

• na zachód = westward / to the west → lowercase
• Zachód = the West as a cultural or political idea → uppercase

For example:

• Europa Zachodnia = Western Europe
• kraje Zachodu = countries of the West

But in your sentence, it is just a compass direction, so zachód stays lowercase.

Jechać is imperfective.

Here that means the sentence presents the action as:

• ongoing
• in progress
• simply happening

So Samochód jedzie na zachód feels like:

• The car is going west
• The car is heading west

The related perfective verb is often pojechać, which is more about setting off or completing the action in a bounded way.

For example:

• Samochód jedzie na zachód = The car is going west
• Samochód pojechał na zachód = The car went/went off to the west

Yes, but it is more formal or descriptive.

Compare:

• na zachód = simple, natural, everyday
• w kierunku zachodnim = in a western direction

So your sentence could also be expressed as:

• Samochód jedzie w kierunku zachodnim

But Samochód jedzie na zachód is shorter and much more natural in ordinary speech.

It has other meanings too.

Besides west, zachód can also mean sunset in the right context.

For example:

• zachód słońca = sunset

So the noun has multiple meanings, but in na zachód, the direction meaning is clear.

That kind of overlap is normal in Polish and usually does not cause confusion once you see the full phrase.