Advice and advise look similar but function differently in a sentence. Advice is a noun meaning a suggestion or guidance you can receive, give, or follow. Advise is a verb meaning to give a suggestion or to recommend an action. The main learning goal is to choose the correct form by checking whether you need a thing (noun) or an action (verb).

Use advice when you need a noun: it can follow articles like a or some, and it can be the object of verbs like get, give, or take. Use advise when you need a verb: it shows an action someone does, so it can take a subject and often an object. A quick check is to try replacing the word with suggestion; if it fits, you want advice. If you can replace it with recommend, you want advise.

Rule	Example
Use advice as a noun for a suggestion or guidance	I need advice about my resume.
Use advise as a verb meaning to recommend	I advise you to update your resume.
If you can say a piece of suggestion, you need advice not advise	That is helpful advice.
If the word needs a subject doing the action, you need advise	She advises clients every day.

Advice refers to guidance as a thing you can ask for, receive, or follow. It commonly appears after verbs like give, offer, need, want, take, and follow. Because advice is a noun, it can be modified by adjectives like good, helpful, practical, and honest. It often pairs with prepositions like about and on to introduce the topic.

Advise expresses the action of recommending or guiding. It is typically followed by an object such as someone, a group, or a pronoun, and it can also be followed by to plus a base verb to state the recommended action. You can also advise that plus a clause for more formal statements. Since it is a verb, it changes form for tense and subject.

Certain sentence frames strongly signal which word you need. If the structure is verb plus object plus to plus verb, you almost always want advise. If the structure is adjective plus blank or verb plus blank plus about or on, you usually want advice. Learning these frames helps you choose quickly without overthinking.

Rule	Example
Verb plus someone plus to plus verb uses advise	They advised me to wait.
Give or get plus blank uses advice	She gave me great advice.
Advice plus about or on introduces a topic	He asked for advice on investing.
Advise plus that plus clause sounds formal	We advise that you arrive early.

Advice is generally uncountable in standard English, so it does not normally take a plural form in formal writing. Instead of saying an advice, use a piece of advice when you mean one item. You can also use some advice to mean an unspecified amount. In informal speech, you may hear advices, but it is not considered standard.

Rule	Example
Use some advice for an unspecified amount	Can you give me some advice?
Use a piece of advice for one item	Here is a piece of advice: save receipts.
Avoid advices in standard English	She offered helpful advice.

Pronunciation helps you distinguish them in speech. Advice ends with an unvoiced s sound, like ice. Advise ends with a voiced z sound, like eyes. Stress falls on the second syllable in both words. Listening for the final sound is often the fastest way to tell which word you heard.

Rule	Description	Notation	Example
Advice ends with s	Final consonant is unvoiced, like s in ice	/ədˈvaɪs/	That advice helped.
Advise ends with z	Final consonant is voiced, like z in eyes	/ədˈvaɪz/	I advise you to leave.
Stress on second syllable	The strongest stress is on vaɪ in both words	ə-DEV-ice, ə-DEV-ize	advice, advise

Because advise is a verb, it changes with tense and can appear in common verb patterns. The base form advise becomes advises in the third person singular present. The past tense and past participle are advised. The -ing form is advising.

Subject	Form	Example
I	advise	I advise caution.
You	advise	You advise me well.
He	advises	He advises students.
She	advises	She advises me to rest.
It	advises	The guide advises visitors to arrive early.
We	advise	We advise you to call ahead.
They	advise	They advise clients daily.

The family of words can help you keep meaning and grammar clear. Adviser or advisor is a noun for a person who gives advice. Advisory is an adjective describing something that offers guidance or a warning. These forms connect to advise as the verb and to advice as the noun concept.

Word/Phrase	Definition	Example
adviser	a person who gives advice	She is my financial adviser.
advisor	alternative spelling of adviser, common in job titles	He is a student advisor.
advisory	giving advice or serving as a warning	The agency issued an advisory.

To choose correctly, decide whether you are naming guidance or describing the act of recommending. If you can put the word after the or some, you need advice. If you can add a subject before it and an object after it, you need advise. Use pronunciation as a final check: advice ends in s, advise ends in z.