Advice and Advise Differ by One Letter and One Sound
Advice is guidance offered. The noun ends in C and hisses, the verb ends in S and buzzes.
Advice is an opinion offered about what someone should do. The pair with *advise* is one of the most useful spelling rules in English, because the sound tells you the spelling: the noun ends in a hissing S and is written with a C, the verb ends in a buzzing Z sound and is written with an S. Practice and practise follow the same pattern in British English.
- Guidance offered. *Legal advice.*
- A notification. *A remittance advice.*
- Advise (verb) — to offer guidance. *I advise caution.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | advice | Sound advice. |
| Verb | advise | Advise the board. |
| Person | adviser / advisor | A senior adviser. |
| Adjective | advisable | It is advisable. |
| Adjective | advisory | An advisory role. |
How it is used in a sentence
- Can I give you some advice?Uncountable: not *an advice*.
- I advise you to wait.Verb.
- A piece of advice.How to count it.
Noun and verb pairs like this
- advice / advise
- device / devise
- practice / practise — the C and S split is British only
- licence / license — again British only
- prophecy / prophesy
From Old French *avis*, opinion, from the Latin phrase *mi est visum*, it seems to me. The *d* was added later to look more Latin.
Can you say *advices*?
Not in ordinary English. Advice is uncountable, so use a piece of advice or some advice.
Adviser or advisor?
Both are correct. Adviser is older and more common in Britain, advisor more common in American job titles.