How to make suggestions and give advice in Japanese?

In Japanese, there are several ways to make suggestions and give advice, but most of the time, a suggested action will be followed by one of these endings:

• 〜ほうがいい (transcribed hō ga ii)

• 〜たらいい (transcribed tara ii) or 〜ばいい (transcribed ba ii)

• 〜といい (transcribed to ii)

• 〜たらどうですか (transcribed tara dō desu ka) or 〜てはどうですか (transcribed tara/te wa dō desu ka)

What are the differences between them? When should you use each one? In this post, we’ll introduce you to the various ways to make suggestions in Japanese, and discuss which ones are appropriate in different contexts. Let’s get started!

In Japanese, you can use the phrase 〜ほうがいい (transcribed hō ga ii), to mark an action or situation that you consider to be better than the alternative. This is, therefore, often used to make suggestions or give advice, much like you might tell someone “you’d better do this” in English.

This phrase is made of three basic parts:

• ほう (transcribed hō), also written 方, means roughly “direction”

• が (transcribed ga) is the standard focus particle

• いい (transcribed ii) is an adjective meaning “good”

Broadly it is used like this:

But the form that the suggested action takes can vary, depending on your desired meaning. Let’s have a look at some of the forms that can be used before 〜ほうがいい (transcribed hō ga ii)!

A second way to make a suggestion or give advice in Japanese is to use a conditional verb before the adjective いい (transcribed ii). There are two possible patterns, both of which literally mean something like “if you [verb], it’s good.”

• Conditional with 〜たら (transcribed tara)
  suggested action

  

  いい

  Transcription: ii

• Conditional with 〜ば (transcribed ba)
  suggested action

  

  いい

  Transcription: ii

What are these two conditional forms? Let’s look a bit closer at each:

• The conditional with 〜たら (transcribed tara) is formed by combining the ta-form with the ending 〜ら (transcribed ra). For example:

  Ta-form	Conditional with 〜たら (transcribed tara)
  通った Transcription: kayotta Translation: joined	通ったら Transcription: kayottara Translation: if (one) joins
  高かった Transcription: takakatta Translation: it was expensive	高かったら Transcription: takakattara Translation: if (it's) expensive

• The conditional with 〜ば (transcribed ba) is a special verb form, sometimes called the ba-form. Though this will always end in 〜ば, the full ending depends on the type of word you’re adding the ending to. Here are a few examples. For the full rules, check this discussion of the ba-form.

  Dictionary	Conditional with 〜ば (transcribed ba)
  たべる Transcription: taberu Translation: to eat	たべれば Transcription: tabereba Translation: if (one) eats
  あう Transcription: au Translation: to match	あえば Transcription: takakattara Translation: if (one) joins
  たのしい Transcription: tanoshii Translation: (be) fun	たのしければ Transcription: tanoshikereba Translation: if (it’s) fun

  Other Japanese conditional forms are not used in this structure.

You can give advice or make suggestions by attaching 〜といい (transcribed to ii) to the dictionary form of a verb. This ending is composed of the particle と (transcribed to) and the adjective いい (transcribed ii), meaning “good.”

Structurally, it’s very simple! Let’s have a look at when you should use this ending to make a suggestion.

Now that you’ve read all about the four main ways to make suggestions and give advice in Japanese, let’s do a challenge! See if you can figure out what the implications of each of the possible answers might be in the example below:

Though these three types of expressions are a bit different, there is one common restriction for all four: they shouldn’t be used toward a superior.

Wondering how you can make suggestions to your teachers, bosses, or customers? Let’s find it out in our last section of the day!

In Japanese, the best way to make a suggestion or give advice to a superior is to use 〜たらどう (transcribed tara dō desu ka) or 〜てはどうですか (transcribed te wa dō desu ka). You can also use these endings to make a polite or “soft” suggestion to a non-superior.

These phrases end in the question particle か (transcribed ka), which means that you’re technically creating a question. For this reason, we usually translate them with a phrase like “how about you…?” or “what would you think about…?”

Just like their English equivalents, these are “softer” and more polite ways to make a suggestion, which you could use in a more deferential way — with a superior or other respected person.

Here is how to use each of these endings. In general, the first sounds a bit less formal.

• Conditional with 〜たら (transcribed tara)
  suggested action

  

  どうですか

  Transcription: dō desu ka

  Translation: how about?

• Te-form with は (transcribed wa)
  suggested action

  

  どうですか

  Transcription: dō desu ka

  Translation: how about?

There are several ways to alter the どう (transcribed dō) or ですか (transcribed desu ka) parts of these endings, depending on the context and level of formality. Here are some of the options, listed from casual to formal:

• In a casual context (like between friends), you can remove the sentence ending ですか (transcribed desu ka) to make it less formal. In some cases you can even drop どう (transcribed dō):

  〜たら（どう）？

  Transcription: -tara (dō)

  This informal ending will sound odd if attached to the more formal te-form.

• To be a bit more polite, replace the question word どう (transcribed dō, meaning “how”) with its polite version いかが (transcribed ikaga, meaning “how”).

  • 〜たらいかがですか

    Transcription: -tara ikaga desu ka
  • 〜ていかがですか

    Transcription: -te ikaga desu ka

• In a very formal context, you can also replace sentence ending ですか (transcribed desu ka) with the honorific form でしょうか (transcribed deshō ka)

  〜ていかがでしょうか

  Transcription: -te ikaga deshō ka

  This very formal ending will sound odd if it follows the less formal conditional with 〜たら (transcribed tara).

Let’s look at some examples of how these expressions might change in different social situations.

• Informal conversation between friends:

  Friend 1:

  おなかすいたなあ。

  Transcription: Onaka suita nā.

  Translation: I’m hungry.

  Friend 2:

  ドーナツがあるよ。食べたら (どう)？

  Transcription: Dōnatsu ga aru yo. Tabetara (dō)?

  Translation: I have donuts. Why don’t you eat some?

• Comfortable conversation between fellow travelers (strangers or acquaintances):

  Traveler 1:

  僕の部屋、エアコンが効かないんですよ。

  Transcription: Boku no heya, eakon ga kikanai ndesu yo.

  Translation: The air conditioner in my room is not working.

  Traveler 2:

  フロントに頼んで、部屋を替えてもらったらどうですか。

  Transcription: Furonto ni tanonde, heya o kaete morattara dō desu ka.

  Translation: Why don’t you ask the front desk to change rooms?

• More polite — an employee to a customer at a store:

  Customer:

  このスーツ、サイズがあうかな。

  Transcription: Kono sūtsu, saizu ga au kana.

  Translation: I wonder if this suit is the right size for me.

  Employee:

  ご試着になってはいかがですか。

  Transcription: Goshichaku ni natte wa ikaga desu ka.

  Translation: Why don’t you try it on?

• Deferential — a secretary to the president of the company:

  Secretary:

  社長、そろそろお出かけになってはいかがでしょうか。

  Transcription: Shachō, sorosoro odekake ni natte wa ikaga deshō ka.

  Translation: Sir, why don’t you get ready to go out soon?

  President:

  うむ、そうだな。そうしよう。

  Transcription: Um, sō da na. Sō shiyō.

  Translation: Yes, you are right. I’ll do so.

Don’t forget, when you use the polite versions, to make sure the rest of the sentence is polite as well!

In this post, we covered several ways of expressing suggestions and advice in Japanese. Here’s a quick review table for you:

Don’t forget to try our Japanese suggestions and advice activities to practice using these structures. Happy learning!