Grammar › N4 · 03 Obligation, advice & negatives

〜ないほうがいい: had better not

N4 · 03 Obligation, advice & negatives

Advises someone not to do something.

Verb plain negative + ほうがいい. Mild advice, softer than a prohibition. Positive version uses た-form (行ったほうがいい), but the negative uses ない-form, not the past. Do not use it for yourself as an order.

Examples

熱ねつがあるから、今日きょうは外そとに出でないほうがいいですよ。

You have a fever, so you had better not go out today.

夜よる遅おそくにコーヒーは飲のまないほうがいいと思おもう。

I think you should not drink coffee late at night.

Study 〜ないほうがいい in the course →