Giving Advice in Japanese Using “…hou ga ii ほうがいい” : Whether it’s friends, family members, co-workers, or even complete strangers, giving suggestions and advice is part of our daily communication. Today, we’re going to learn how to give suggestions and advice using the phrase ～ほうがいい (…hou ga ii). The meaning in English is “It’s better to do…”
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Giving Advice in Japanese Using “…hou ga ii ほうがいい”
Let’s say you have a friend who is a little on the heavy side. They’re always complaining about being overweight and that no one is going to ask them to the prom. Your friend wants advice, and you tell them the best advice you have ever received about weight control.
“Why don’t you exercise!”
In order to say it in Japanese, you first take the word “to exercise”…
運動する
undou suru
…and then, you change the verb to the casual past tense (the -ta form) like this:
運動する ➡️ 運動した
undou suru ➡️ undou shita
Lastly, you combine it with our phrase of the day.
～ほうがいい
…hou ga ii
運動したほうがいい！
Undou shita hou ga ii!
Why don’t you exercise (It’s better to exercise)!
When giving advice, it’s also common to add ね (ne) or よ (yo) at the end of the sentence. Adding ne softens the blow a bit, and adding yo makes it a bit more forceful (as if this person needs a bit more of a push in the right direction).
運動したほうがいいね！
Undou shita hou ga ii ne!
Why don’t you exercise! (Nuance: Have you tried that yet?)
運動したほうがいいよ！
Undou shita hou ga ii yo!
Why don’t you exercise! (Nuance: You need to hop to! Chop-chop!)
The Meaning of ～ほうがいい
方 (hou) is the Japanese word meaning, “way.”
いい (ii) means “good.”
Therefore, when you combine hou and ii using が (ga), it literally translates to “(This) way is good.”
Therefore, if we translate “Undou shita hou ga ii” literally, we get, “The way of the exercise is good (better).”
Let’s Make Some More Sentences Using ～ほうがいい
A: どこで空手を習おうか。
B: 日本で稽古したほうがいいね！
A: Doko de karate wo naraou ka.
B: Nihon de keiko shita hou ga ii ne!
A: Where should I learn karate?
B: You should do your training in Japan (It’s better to do your training in Japan)!
Student: 先生、私はどうやって漢字マスターになれますか？
Teacher: 毎日三時間勉強したほうがいいよ。
Student: Sensei, watashi wa dou yatte kanji masutaa ni naremasu ka?
Teacher: Mai-nichi san jikan benkyou shita hou ga ii yo.
Student: Teacher, how can I become a kanji master?
Teacher: Study three hours a day (You had better study three hours every day).
A: ちょっと気持ち悪い。どうしよう？
B: 病院に行ったほうがいいですね。
A: Chotto kimochi warui. Dou shiyou?
B: Byouin ni itta hou ga ii desu ne.
A: I feel sick. What should I do?
B: You should go to the hospital (You had better go to the hospital).
A: 私は来年海外旅行するけどまだパスポートがありません。
B: では、今から申請しておいたほうがいいですよ！
A: Watashi wa rainen kaigai ryokou suru kedo mada pasupooto ga arimasen.
B: Dewa, ima kara shinsei shite oita hou ga ii desu yo!
A: I’m going on a trip overseas next year, but I don’t have a passport yet.
B: Well, you had better apply for one (in advance) now!
(You’re holding a steaming cup of coffee, and someone blows past you at the train station, causing you to spill it all over yourself.)
おい！前を見たほうがいいよ！
Oi! Mae wo mita hou ga ii yo!
Hey! You’d better watch where you’re going!
Advising People NOT to Do Something Using ～ほうがいい
When advising people against something, instead of conjugating the verb into the -ta form, you conjugate it into the -nai form. Here are some examples.
子供の周りにタバコを吸わないほうがいいね。
Kodomo no mawari ni tabako wo suwanai hou ga ii ne.
You shouldn’t smoke around children.
空きっ腹に飲まないほうがいいですよ。
Sukippara ni nomanai hou ga ii desu yo.
It’s better not to drink on an empty stomach.
食後３０分まで泳がないほうがいいですよ。
Shokugo sanjuppun made oyoganai hou ga ii desu yo.
You shouldn’t swim until 30 minutes after eating.
A: 俺はマックが好きだけど痩せたいね。
B: じゃ、マックを食べないほうがいいよね！
A: Ore wa makku ga suki dakedo yasetai ne.
B: Ja, makku wo tabenai hou ga ii yo ne!
A: I love McDonald’s, but I want to lose weight.
B: Well, quit eating McDonald’s then (It’s better not to eat McDonald’s)!
In summary,
～ほうがいい is used when giving advice or suggestions to people. The sentence is created by conjugating the verb into the casual past tense (the -ta form) and following it with “…hou ga ii.” If you want to advise people NOT to do something, you conjugate the verb into the -nai form instead of the -ta form. Ending the sentence with the particle ne lessens the impact of the suggestion, and ending it with a yo heightens the impact.
Now that you’ve learned how to give advice, it’s time to get out there and practice! If someone tells you they’re going to stay up all night to cram for a test, tell them that it’s better to get plenty of sleep the night before and eat a good breakfast! If someone leaves their front door open with the heater on, tell them it’s better for the environment not to waste energy like that. Be careful, though. Make sure that the advice is called for and not just random. You don’t want to come off as too critical to your speaking partners!
Always remember: when you learn something new, the only way to master it is to get out there and practice, practice, practice!
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