ほうがいい
- 1You had better do something; it would be good to do it (affirmative advice with the た形).Ex. 1
- 2You had better not do something; it would be best to avoid it (negative advice with the ない形).Ex. 2
- 3Something is the better or preferable choice (after adjectives, noun + の, or the dictionary form).
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A very common, everyday way to give friendly advice or to say which option is better. It works in casual speech (often with よ) and, with です, in polite speech. It is softer than べきだ, and more direct than といい / たらいい, which only suggest that something would be nice.
Note that affirmative advice about a specific action normally uses the た形 (寝たほうがいい), even though the action lies in the future.
Do not use なかった for negative advice; say 吸わないほうがいい, not 吸わなかったほうがいい.
Note that giving direct advice with ほうがいい to superiors can sound pushy, so use it carefully in formal situations.
- 〜ないほうがいいN4「〜ないほうがいい」 is simply 「ほうがいい」 attached to a verb's ない-form, meaning 'you had better not...'; in this sense the two are the same. 「ほうがいい」 can also attach to the た-form, among others, to suggest doing something, or to nouns and the like to express comparative preference.
- といい / たらいいN4「といい／たらいい」 is close to 「ほうがいい」 only when giving advice, and its tone is softer. It is not used for comparing choices, but it can express a wish like 'it would be nice if...'; when asking what to do, people often say 「どうしたらいいですか」.
- ことだN3「ことだ」 is used only for advice, attaching to the dictionary form or the ない-form; its tone is more assertive and preachy, typically from an elder to a junior, and it often pairs with 「〜たいなら」. You can swap it in when giving advice, but the tone becomes heavier; it cannot be swapped in when expressing preference.
- べきだN2「べきだ」 appeals to reason and common sense, asserting what ought to be; its tone is stronger than 「ほうがいい」 and carries a preachy feel. It attaches only to the dictionary form of verbs (never the た-form), and it cannot replace 「ほうがいい」 when comparing two things or expressing preference.
- より〜ほうがN5「より〜ほうが」 is used purely for comparison; its predicate is not limited to 「いい」 — e.g., 「速い」 or 「疲れる」 — and it carries no sense of advice on its own. When expressing preference, the two can combine as 「AよりBのほうがいい」; when giving advice, it cannot be used in its place.
〜ないほうがいい is the negative-advice form of this pattern, and より〜ほうが states an explicit comparison that names both options (タクシーより電車のほうがいいよ), which can also serve as advice. といい / たらいい gently suggest that something would be nice, whereas ことだ and べきだ express stronger, more insistent views about what one ought to do.
