You’re typing a quick note to a client: “Please advice on the invoice.” Your thumb hovers over send, and something looks off. That’s the advice vs. advise problem, and it shows up right when you’re in a hurry.
Which Is Correct, Advice or Advise?
Advice names the tip itself, so it’s a noun. Advise is the action of giving that tip, so it’s a verb. A quick way to tell them apart: you hand over advice, and you advise a person. Say them aloud, too. Advice hisses with an s sound, like ice. Advise buzzes with a z.
Here’s one sentence with both: My landlord advised me to keep every receipt, and it was the best advice I got all year.
Say It Out Loud First
The fastest check needs no grammar. Say the sentence the way you’d say it to a friend, not the way you typed it. Hear a z at the end, as in “wise”? That’s advise. If it hisses, like the end of “ice,” you mean advice.
Spelling tricks are shakier. One popular tip says words ending in -ise are verbs. That works for advise, but exercise and promise are nouns that end in -ise, so I’d skip it.
My advice: trust your ear, then back it up with a swap. If “a suggestion” fits the gap, write advice. If “suggest” fits, write advise.
| Item | Meaning | Use it when | Example |
| Advice (noun, ends in an s sound) | A suggestion about what to do | You’re naming the guidance itself | Her advice was to book the train a week ahead. |
| Advise (verb, ends in a z sound) | To recommend something, or to give someone information | A person is doing the recommending | The travel desk advised us to book a week ahead. |
See Also: Affect vs Effect: How to Pick the Right Word Every Time
“Please Advise” and “Please Be Advised” in Real Emails
Email is where most people slip. “Please advise” is correct. It asks the reader to tell you what to do or what they know. “Please advice” is never right, because the word after “please” has to be a verb.
“Please be advised” does a different job. It’s a formal way to hand someone information, as in Please be advised that the parking lot closes at noon on Saturday. You’re announcing something, not asking for help.
Which should you use? Between coworkers, neither. “Can you tell me if the Friday slot is still open?” gets an answer faster and doesn’t read like a letter from a bank. Formal wording suits notices and official letters. A message to a teammate doesn’t need it.
Two quick models:
- Please advise whether the Friday slot is still open.
- Please be advised that the front entrance is closed for repairs.
See Also: Accept vs Except: Difference, Examples, and a Quick Test
Why You Can’t Say “an Advice” or “Two Advices”
Advice is uncountable, like furniture or news. You can’t count it directly, so it never gets an “a” in front or an s on the end. Say “some advice” or “a piece of advice.”
Wrong: She gave me three advices before my interview. Better: She gave me three pieces of advice before my interview.
You might spot “advices” in older writing or business paperwork, where it means notices or information, as in “payment advices.” That’s a separate use. It isn’t the plural of the tip-giving meaning, so don’t reach for it when you mean tips.
Advise in All Its Forms
The verb changes with the sentence, and the noun never does. That’s another quick clue.
- Advises goes with he, she, or it: Our bus driver advises everyone to keep bags off the floor.
- Advised is the past tense: The school advised parents to pack a spare uniform. There’s no such word as “adviced.”
- Advising fits something in progress: She’s advising two students on their science projects.
- Advise against means to warn someone off: The guide advised against hiking after 4 p.m.
What about the person who does the advising? Both adviser and advisor are correct. Advisor tends to show up with official roles, like an advisor to the mayor.
Fix These Five Sentences
Try each one before you read the answers.
- My sister gave me some great advise about moving.
- Please advice me on which size to order.
- The coach advice us to rest before the game.
- He asked for three advices on his resume.
- I advice you to take her advise.
Answers: (1) advice, because “great advise” names a thing. (2) advise, because “please” needs a verb. (3) advised, past tense. (4) three pieces of advice, since the noun doesn’t take a plural. (5) “I advise you to take her advice.” This one’s wrong twice, and it’s the sentence where the two words sit side by side.
See Also: Loose or Lose: What’s the Difference? Meaning and Examples
The Spelling Pattern Behind the Pair
English often uses -ce for a noun and -se for the matching verb. Device and devise split the same way. A gadget is a device. Thinking up a plan means you devise it. British English also splits practice (noun) from practise (verb), while American English usually writes practice for both.
Advice and advise share one old ancestor, an Old French word meaning “opinion,” which likely grew out of a phrase like “it seems to me.” The d in the middle isn’t original. Scribes added it centuries ago because it made the words look more Latin.
Quick Answers
Is it “please advise” or “please advice”?
“Please advise.” You’re asking someone to do something, so you need the verb.
Is “advices” ever correct?
Only in business or older writing, where it means notices or news. For tips and suggestions, use “advice” with no s.
Is it “advised” or “adviced”?
Advised. Advice is a noun, so it has no past tense.
Adviser or advisor?
Both are fine. Advisor often fits official titles, but you won’t be marked wrong for either.
Can advise mean “inform”?
Yes. Advise covers giving a recommendation or giving information, which is why “please be advised” works as a formal heads-up.
A Last Check Before You Hit Send
Search your draft for “advis” and “advic” and look at each hit once. Any “advice” that can’t follow “some” or “a piece of” is probably the wrong word.
If “please advice” slips out more often than you’d like to admit, add a text shortcut on your phone that swaps it for “please advise.” It takes about ten seconds to set up and fixes the slip before anyone sees it.
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