Advice vs Advise
Published December 14, 2022. Updated January 16, 2023.
Advice and Advise are very easy to mix up. They look almost the same! They sound almost the same! They mean almost the same thing! However, there is a major difference, and it’s their parts of speech. Advice is a noun. It’s a thing. It’s something you give to people to help them make a decision. Advise is a verb. It’s an action. It is what you do when you give people advice (Did you catch that? Clever, huh?).
Here are some definitions and examples to help make the use of these words clearer.
Advice (noun)
An opinion offered as a guide to help someone make a decision.
Examples:
My sister doesn’t know what to do, so I’m giving her advice.
My friends gave me advice since I wasn’t sure which choice was best.
In these examples, advice is a thing. You can think of it like a small gift one person gives to another. Also notice that the verb “give” often goes with the word advice. You give advice.
Advise (verb)
To offer someone a recommendation or an opinion about what to choose.
Examples:
I’m not sure that will work. I advise you to reconsider.
Parents often advise their children when they are making a major decision.
Did you notice that the word advise is the verb in both sentences above? It is the action of giving a suggestion or an opinion. Advise also requires an object: you must advise someone. In the first sentence, the object is “you” – I advise you. In the second sentence, the object is “children” – Parents advise their children.
Main Points
- Advice is an opinion offered as a guide to help someone make a decision.
- Advise means to offer someone a recommendation or an opinion about what to choose.
- Advice is more commonly used. The C in advice (earlier in the alphabet) is pronounced like an S (later in the alphabet).
- Advise is less common. The S in advise (later in the alphabet) is pronounced like a Z (last in the alphabet).