Advice vs. Advise: Difference and How to use Each Correctly

Main Advise vs. Advice Takeaways:

• Advice and advise sound similar, but they’re not the same.
• Advice is a noun, while advise is a verb.
• You can give advice to someone, or you can advise someone.
• Please advise or kindly advise are requests for information. Some people don’t mind these phrases, while others consider them abrupt or passive aggressive.
• Please be advised is a phrase used to share information with a formal tone.

Do you advice someone, or do you advise them? Do you receive advise or advice? Although the English language makes a distinction between advise and advice, it is not always easy to tell the difference because they are both commonly used in everyday conversations. However, understanding the difference between advice vs. advise is the key to knowing how each word should be used. In this post, we’ll cover the difference between these two words plus when and how you should use them.

What’s the Difference Between Advice and Advise?

On the surface, advice and advise sound the same, but they are actually different in meaning. Besides their difference in spelling and pronunciation, they also answer different questions. Advice (c pronounced as s) is a noun. It refers to the opinion or suggestion that you give or receive from someone. Advise (s pronounced as z), on the other hand, is a verb. It refers to the actual act of giving information and guidance to someone.

Do You Advise or Advice?

You can advise (with an ‘s‘) because advise is a verb. You can’t advice (with a ‘c‘) because this word is a noun. In other words, advice is a noun — it’s a thing. Advise is a transitive or an intransitive verb — it’s a “doing word.” You can’t chair someone, but you can give them a chair. Similarly, you can’t advice someone, but you can give them advice.

Advice vs. Advise Pronunciation Guide

These two words look alike, but they sound different when spoken aloud.

👀 On one hand, the ‘s‘ in advise is almost pronounced like a ‘z‘ (add-VYZ). If it rhymes with the word “eyes,” you know you’re pronouncing advise correctly.

🧊 On the other hand, the ‘c‘ in advice is pronounced like an ‘s‘ (add-VICE). If it rhymes with the word “ice,” you know you’re pronouncing advice correctly.

How Do You Use Advice and Advise in a Sentence?

Here are the best examples of how to use advice and advise in a sentence:

Is Please Advise Rude?

The phrase “please advise” is a succinct request for information or guidance, and isn’t necessarily rude. However, it depends on the context as well as the speaker’s tone, intention, and style. For instance, some may take it as too short, blunt, demanding, or even passive aggressive. Moreover, some consider it redundant and would prefer a direct question. On the other hand, it can also stand in for “let me know” (Should you have any questions, please advise).

Let’s look at a few examples of “please advise” in action:

In the first instance, “please advise” comes across as benign and a little dry, but not rude. In the second instance, the reader knows they’re in trouble. Tone can be hard to read via email, so if you’re in doubt, use a different phrase.

What is Another Word for Advice?

Here are other names and synonyms for the noun advice:

• Guidance
• A recommendation/some recommendations
• Input
• An opinion/your opinion
• Some help
• A suggestion/some suggestions
• A tip/some tips
• A word of wisdom
• Some pearls of wisdom

Advise vs. Advice Recap

Is it advice or advise? Advise and advice are two words that frequently cause authors confusion. Notwithstanding, advise and advice play slightly different roles: they’re similar — but they’re not the same. For instance, you can advise someone, or you can give them advice.

Feeling clearer about advise vs. advice? Test your grammar knowledge with our quick quiz below.

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