Advise vs Advice
Though advise and advice look similar and some use them interchangeably there is a difference between advise and advice in their usage and meanings. This difference between advise and advice is mainly in the part of speech they belong to. Advise is considered as a verb whereas advice is considered a noun. However, this distinct difference is used only in British English as the treatment of advise and advice changes in American English. In British English, especially, advise is known as a verb and advice a noun. In other words, advise is considered the verb form of advice.
What does Advise mean?
According to the Oxford dictionary, advise means “offer suggestions about the best course of action to someone.” For example,
He advised me not to go to the bakery in that weather.
However, it should be noted that advise is known as the verb form of the word advice only in British English. Therefore, in British English you have to mind where you use advise. When it comes to pronunciation the ‘s’ in advise is pronounced as the ‘z’ in words like zip and zero.
In American English, the word advise is not much used in everyday life, though the word appears in the dictionary.
What does Advice mean?
According to the Oxford dictionary, advice mean “guidance of recommendations offered with regard to prudent action.” This is the main meaning. The word is also used in the financial sphere to mean “a formal notice of a financial transaction.” Look at the following example that shows how advice is normally used.
John’s advice was very useful in choosing a book.
When it comes to pronunciation, advice should be pronounced according to the following simple rule. The ‘c’ in advice should be pronounced like ‘s’ in words such as sip and sit.
In American English, this word advice is more used than advise in day to day life. The word advice can be used when you are seeking the opinion of others or when you are giving a recommendation to someone.
What is the difference between Advise and Advice?
The words advice and advise have a difference in their usage though they appear to be the same word. This difference is especially highlighted in British English where advise is used as verb and advice is considered as the noun form of advise. In American English, this difference is not given much place.
The word advice is used when seeking opinion and it is used more often. The word advise is used sparingly on the contrary. You would still find its use especially in the business circle. Observe the usage of the word advise in the sentence,
“Please advise me as to how to proceed in this matter.”
Similarly, observe the usage of the two words in the two sentences,
“I would advise you to go to bed late tonight.”
and
“I am happy he took my advice.”
In short it can be said that both the words give the meaning of ‘counselling.’
Summary:
Advise vs Advice
• Advise is a verb. Advice is a noun.
• They both have the same meaning of counselling or asking for someone’s opinion.
• In British English, this noun and verb difference is much considered. That is not so in American English.
• There is a difference in pronunciation of these two words. Advise ‘s’ is pronounced as ‘z’ while ‘c’ in advice is pronounced as ‘s’.
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