~hō ga ii desu
“~hō ga ii desu” means “It’s better to do something”. For instance, “Kusuri o nonda hō ga ii desu” means “It’s better to take medicine”. Remember that the verb must be converted to past tense when using this sentences. As shown in the above example, “Nomu” (Drink) is converted to “Nonda” which is past tense. However, when using this sentence for negative phrase, no past tense shall be used. For example : “Kusuri wa nomanai hō ga ii desu” (It’s better not to take medicine). See it doesn’t use “nomanakatta” (past tense) instead “nomanai” (present tense) is used.
As usual, “o” shall be used after the noun for positive phrase and “wa” is used for negative phrase.
Other Examples
It’s better to eat more vegetables – Yasai o takusan (taberu)tabeta hō ga ii desu
It’s better to sleep earlier – (Hayai)Hayaku (neru)neta hō ga ii desu
It’s better not to go too far – Amari (tooi)tooku e wa (iku)ikanai hō ga ii desu
Meaning : Yasai (Vegetables), Takusan (Many / More), Neru (Sleep), Hayai (Fast), Tooi (Far), Amari (Not So)
July 5th, 2010 at 11:12 am
thanks for your efforts in all your posts
July 5th, 2010 at 6:35 pm
Leslie, glad you like this site.
October 17th, 2011 at 8:00 am
how could i ask if it would be better if i brought a sweater? what is the word to bring? thank you!!
July 16th, 2012 at 8:01 pm
For Jessica~
“Would it be better if I brought a sweater” – se-ta o motte kita hō ga ii desuka?
to bring – motte kuru
June 17th, 2013 at 10:15 pm
this website does not have adequate examples.
May 21st, 2023 at 1:15 pm
Thank you for the clarification. I was wondering if it’s the same if you said “It’s better to take medicine” and “It’s better that you took medicine” or something like that. As in, if the task has already been done and now you’re commenting on it?
May 21st, 2023 at 3:06 pm
Hi,
It is the same. You can use the same format in both scenario