Using ～ほうがいい (also seen as 方がいい), we will advise our friend what to do. Remember that the verb before ～ほうがいい is in the short past tense in the affirmative and the short present tense in the negative.

In English, the phrase ‘you had better…’ carries with it a slightly menacing or threatening tone. In this sense, it is not a great translation for ～ほうがいい – this construction does not carry such connotations. This form does carry the nuance that something bad might happen if the listener does not do the suggested activity, but it does not imply that the speaker will bring about that bad thing. That said, it is generally inappropriate in Japanese to tell someone above you in social rank, age, etc. what they should or shouldn’t do.

In this exercise, our friend is saying that they have a test tomorrow. We will tell them that they had better study a lot.

たくさん勉強したほうがいいです。

Using ～ほうがいい (also seen as 方がいい), we will advise our friend what to do. Remember that the verb before ～ほうがいい is in the short past tense in the affirmative and the short present tense in the negative.

In English, the phrase ‘you had better…’ carries with it a slightly menacing or threatening tone. In this sense, it is not a great translation for ～ほうがいい – this construction does not carry such connotations. This form does carry the nuance that something bad might happen if the listener does not do the suggested activity, but it does not imply that the speaker will bring about that bad thing. That said, it is generally inappropriate in Japanese to tell someone above you in social rank, age, etc. what they should or shouldn’t do.

In this exercise, our friend is saying that they are hungry. We will tell them that they had better eat something.

何か食べたほうがいいです。

Using ～ほうがいい (also seen as 方がいい), we will advise our friend what to do. Remember that the verb before ～ほうがいい is in the short past tense in the affirmative and the short present tense in the negative.

In English, the phrase ‘you had better…’ carries with it a slightly menacing or threatening tone. In this sense, it is not a great translation for ～ほうがいい – this construction does not carry such connotations. This form does carry the nuance that something bad might happen if the listener does not do the suggested activity, but it does not imply that the speaker will bring about that bad thing. That said, it is generally inappropriate in Japanese to tell someone above you in social rank, age, etc. what they should or shouldn’t do.

In this exercise, our friend is saying that they caught a cold. We will tell them that they had better take medicine. (Note: the verb for ‘to take medicine’ is 飲む, which directly translates as ‘to swallow.’)

薬を飲んだほうがいいです。
（くすりを飲んだほうがいいです。）