“Advise” vs. “Advice”—What’s the Difference?

To whom do you turn when a tough decision perplexes you? Do you seek out someone who has faced similar choices? If so, you undoubtedly pay close attention as they tell you how they weighed the options. If they give suggestions, you carefully implement those that seem likely to benefit your situation. What is it you should thank them for giving you—advise or advice?

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Advise vs. advice–What’s the difference?

The difference between advise and advice has to do with parts of speech. While both refer to suggestions and recommendations, advise is only used as a verb and advice is only used as a noun.

Advise is a verb that means to suggest what should be done, to recommend, or to give information to someone. The s of advise sounds like a z.
Advice is a noun that means a suggestion about what you should do. The c of advice sounds like s.

Advise

The s in advise sounds like a z. To advise is to suggest what should be done, to recommend, or to give information to someone. In other words, to advise means to give advice.

Here are a couple of examples:

The lawyer advised the client not to sign anything that she did not read first.

My stepfather always advises me to bring a jacket when it’s cloudy outside.

Synonyms of to advise are to give suggestions, to counsel, and to notify.

Advice

The c in advice sounds like an s. When someone gives you a suggestion about what you should do, that’s advice. In this sense, it is an uncountable noun (that means you can’t have an advice or many advices).

Here are a couple of examples:

Elena gave her daughter advice about what to say to her father.

Occasionally, you will see expressions that divide advice into units of measurement that can be pluralized, such as pieces of advice or words of advice.

The daughter carefully followed her mother’s words of advice.

Synonyms of advice include guidance, counsel, and direction. A person who gives advice formally or on a regular basis is an advisor or an adviser.

Examples of advise vs. advice

You can jump in the water, but I wouldn’t advise it.
The teacher advised the students to study hard and get a good night’s sleep.
Joe gave great advice about making a career move.
My advice would be to skip the merry-go-round and head to the Ferris wheel.
While choosing a used car, Sina had some advice; she advised Mateo to find one that was reliable, had good gas mileage, and was fun to drive.