Advice or Advise Difference in Hindi: Complete Guide with Examples

⏱ Reading time: 8 min read

Quick answer: “Advice” is a noun (सलाह) that refers to guidance or recommendations, while “advise” is a verb (सलाह देना) meaning to give guidance. Hindi speakers often confuse them because both words sound similar, but remember: advice is what you give, advise is what you do.

English learners whose first language is Hindi frequently stumble over the advice/advise distinction because these words look and sound nearly identical, yet serve completely different grammatical functions. The confusion intensifies because Hindi uses the same root word “सलाह” for both the noun and verb forms, making it harder to internalize that English requires two separate words. Mastering this difference is crucial for professional communication, academic writing, and everyday conversations in English.

Term	Meaning / When to use	Example sentence
Advice (noun)	A recommendation or guidance offered about future action; use when referring to the actual guidance itself as a thing	“My father gave me excellent advice about choosing a career path.”
Advise (verb)	To offer recommendations or guidance; use when describing the action of giving counsel	“I would advise you to start saving money early for retirement.”

When to use “Advice”

“Advice” functions exclusively as a noun, representing the actual content of guidance, recommendations, or opinions offered to someone. Think of it as the tangible product—the words of wisdom themselves. In Hindi, this translates to “सलाह” (salah), “मार्गदर्शन” (margdarshan), or “सुझाव” (sujhav). You use “advice” when you’re talking about the guidance as an object or concept, not the action of giving it.

According to Wikipedia’s entry on Advice, advice encompasses “guidance regarding future behavior” that can be informal or formal, making it a fundamental part of human communication across cultures.

Here are concrete examples showing correct usage:

• “The career counselor’s advice helped me choose between engineering and medicine.” (सलाह)
• “She ignored my advice about investing in cryptocurrency and lost money.” (मेरी सलाह)
• “Can I ask for your advice on writing a resume?” (आपकी सलाह)
• “His advice was to study harder and practice more.” (उसकी सलाह)

Real-world error correction from my editing experience: I recently reviewed a job application where the candidate wrote, “I would like to advice you about my qualifications.” This is incorrect because they’re trying to use it as a verb. The correct version: “I would like to offer my advice about industry trends” (if using as noun) or better yet, “I would like to advise you of my qualifications” (using the verb form correctly).

Another common mistake I see in WhatsApp messages from Hindi speakers: “Please give me an advise.” This is wrong because “advice” is uncountable—you cannot say “an advice” or “advices.” The correct phrasing: “Please give me some advice” or “Please give me a piece of advice.”

When to use “Advise”

“Advise” operates solely as a verb, describing the action of offering recommendations, warnings, or guidance to someone. In Hindi, this translates to “सलाह देना” (salah dena), “मार्गदर्शन करना” (margdarshan karna), or “सुझाव देना” (sujhav dena). You use “advise” when someone is actively performing the act of counseling or recommending. The pronunciation differs subtly from “advice”—the ‘s’ in “advise” sounds like a ‘z’ (ad-vize), while the ‘c’ in “advice” sounds like an ‘s’ (ad-vice).

Examples demonstrating proper usage:

• “I strongly advise you to wear a helmet while riding a motorcycle.” (सलाह देता हूं)
• “The doctor advised him to reduce sugar intake immediately.” (डॉक्टर ने सलाह दी)
• “Would you advise me on which laptop to buy?” (क्या आप मुझे सलाह देंगे?)
• “They were advised to evacuate before the cyclone arrived.” (उन्हें सलाह दी गई थी)

From my years correcting business emails, here’s a typical error: A manager wrote to her team, “I hope this advice helps you understand the new policy.” While grammatically correct, she actually meant to use the verb form because she was performing the action of informing them. Better: “I hope this email advises you of the new policy changes” or more naturally, “I want to advise you about the new policy.”

Another frequent mistake appears in cover letters: “I advice candidates to apply early.” This is incorrect because “advice” cannot function as a verb. The writer meant: “I advise candidates to apply early” or “My advice to candidates is to apply early.”

In formal Indian English correspondence, I often see: “Kindly advice us about the payment status.” Wrong! It should be: “Kindly advise us about the payment status.” Remember, after modal verbs like “should,” “could,” “would,” or polite requests with “kindly,” you always need the verb form “advise.”

How to remember the difference

Here’s a powerful memory trick that works exceptionally well for Hindi speakers: Focus on the ending letters. “Advice” ends with -ice, just like the word “ice.” Ice is a thing (noun), and advice is also a thing (noun). You can hold ice in your hand; you can hold advice in your mind. Both are objects, not actions.

“Advise” ends with -ise, which sounds like “ize” endings of other verbs you know: realize, organize, recognize. All these are action words, and so is “advise.” When you advise someone, you’re doing something—taking action.

Another mnemonic: The ‘c’ in “advice” stands for “content” or “counsel” (both nouns), while the ‘s’ in “advise” stands for “suggest” or “say” (both verbs).

For Hindi speakers specifically, remember this parallel:

• Advice = सलाह (the thing itself)
• Advise = सलाह देना (the action of giving)

The extra word “देना” (dena/to give) in Hindi signals action, just like the ‘s’ in “advise” signals a verb in English.

Here’s an editor-level insight I’ve developed: When proofreading, if you can replace the word with “guidance” or “recommendation” and the sentence still makes sense, use “advice” (noun). If you can replace it with “recommend” or “counsel” (verbs), use “advise.” Test it: “I you to go” → “I recommend you to go” works, so use “advise.” “Her was helpful” → “Her recommendation was helpful” works, so use “advice.”

Common mistakes and exceptions

The most pervasive mistake among Hindi speakers is using “advise” when they mean “advice” in formal letters and emails. This happens because in Hindi, the same word “सलाह” serves both functions, and the verb form “सलाह देना” feels like it should translate directly to “advice” rather than recognizing that English requires “advise” for the action.

Uncountable noun error: “Advice” is uncountable in English, unlike many Hindi nouns. You cannot say “an advice,” “advices,” or “two advices.” This trips up Hindi speakers because “सलाह” can be counted in Hindi (एक सलाह, दो सलाह). Correct English usage requires: “a piece of advice,” “some advice,” “words of advice,” or “bits of advice.”

Incorrect: “He gave me many good advices.”
Correct: “He gave me a lot of good advice” or “He gave me many good pieces of advice.”

Spelling confusion in digital communication: In hurried texting or WhatsApp messages, I frequently see: “Pls advice” when the writer means “Please advise” (verb form used in formal requests). This is especially common in business contexts where someone is asking for information or action.

Tense variations: Remember that “advise” changes form with tense: advise (present), advised (past), advising (present participle), advises (third person singular). “Advice” never changes form—it’s always “advice” regardless of tense because it’s a noun.

Wrong: “She adviced me to study harder.” (There’s no such word as “adviced” as a noun)
Correct: “She advised me to study harder.” (verb, past tense)

Wrong: “His advices were helpful.”
Correct: “His advice was helpful.”

Formal vs. informal contexts: In very formal British English (still used in Indian legal and governmental documents), you might encounter “advise” used in ways that seem unusual: “We advise receipt of your payment” means “We are informing you that we received your payment.” This formal usage is less common in everyday American English but persists in Indian English due to colonial influence.

Pronunciation trap: The pronunciation difference is subtle but crucial. “Advice” ends with an ‘s’ sound (like “ice”), while “advise” ends with a ‘z’ sound (like “ize”). Hindi speakers often pronounce both with the same ‘s’ sound because Hindi doesn’t distinguish these sounds in this context. Practice: “ad-VICE” (noun) vs. “ad-VIZE” (verb).

Regional variation note: Unlike some English words that differ between US and UK spelling (like “practice/practise”), “advice/advise” maintains the same spelling distinction in both American and British English. The noun is always “advice,” and the verb is always “advise,” regardless of which English variant you’re using. This consistency actually makes it easier to remember.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use “advise” as a noun in Indian English?
No, even in Indian English, “advise” cannot function as a noun. While Indian English has some unique features and borrowings from Hindi, the fundamental grammatical distinction between “advice” (noun) and “advise” (verb) remains the same as in standard English worldwide.

Why do both words exist if they mean the same thing?
According to Wikipedia’s article on Difference, English often creates distinct word forms to separate actions from objects, providing clarity in communication. Having separate noun and verb forms allows for more precise expression—you can talk about the guidance itself (advice) separately from the act of giving it (advise).

Is “advices” ever correct in any context?
No, “advices” is never correct in modern standard English. While archaic English (from centuries ago) occasionally used “advices” to mean “reports” or “notifications” in diplomatic or business contexts, this usage is obsolete. Today, “advice” is always uncountable, and you should never add an ‘s’ to make it plural.

How do I use these words correctly in Hindi-English mixed conversations (Hinglish)?
When code-switching between Hindi and English, maintain the English grammatical rules. Say “Mujhe aapki advice chahiye” (I need your advice) using the noun form, or “Aap mujhe advise karo” (You advise me) using the verb form. Don’t mix them as “Aap mujhe advice karo” or “Mujhe advise chahiye”—these are incorrect because they violate the noun/verb distinction.