Giving recommendations

The7thSamurai · 25 Jun 2007

So there are quite a few ways to give a recommendation in Japanese, depending on the nuance. For example, to say something like "you should buy ~" you could say:

買ったらいい
買えばいい
買うといい
買った方がいい

Looking at this conversation here:

A: 電子辞書を書いたんですけど、どこで買ったらいいですか。
B: ヨドバシカメラで買ったらいいです。

According to my teacher, the construction 買った方がいい would not be appropriate as the answer form, but all the other constructions would be fine. Does anyone know why? My text book actually treats the た方がいい construction as a different form, and lumps the other three together but I can't see what's different.

Also, I often ask friends 「どこへ行った方がいい？」 when asking where we should go (to have coffee etc). Considering the question, am I using the right construction here, or would one of the others be better?

Elizabeth · 26 Jun 2007

Also, I often ask friends 「どこへ行った方がいい？」 when asking where we should go (to have coffee etc). Considering the question, am I using the right construction here, or would one of the others be better?

Personally I'd say どこへ行きましょうか？

行った方がいい I think is more like a recommendation of 'should' as in 'ought to' or 'must'....as if finding the absolute best coffee in town is more important than the individual preferences of the people you are presumably asking.

ごめんなさい、一度に返事を書ききれなくて。。。

nhk9 · 26 Jun 2007

Bucko said:
So there are quite a few ways to give a recommendation in Japanese, depending on the nuance. For example, to say something like "you should buy ~" you could say:

買ったらいい
買えばいい
買うといい
買った方がいい

Looking at this conversation here:

A: 電子辞書を書いたんですけど、どこで買ったらいいですか。
B: ヨドバシカメラで買ったらいいです。

According to my teacher, the construction 買った方がいい would not be appropriate as the answer form, but all the other constructions would be fine. Does anyone know why? My text book actually treats the た方がいい construction as a different form, and lumps the other three together but I can't see what's different.

Also, I often ask friends 「どこへ行った方がいい？」 when asking where we should go (to have coffee etc). Considering the question, am I using the right construction here, or would one of the others be better?

If you say 買った方がいい, that implies you are making a comparison against something. ie. Internet yori yodobashi kamera de katta hou ga ii desu
As for "tara, ba, to", there are specific rules about when you can use one and when you cannot use another. Most intermediate level books go through this kind of material. The book 日本語中級J501―中級から上級へ英語版 (please amazon it) has a good explanation on how to differentiate them.

Elizabeth · 26 Jun 2007

Bucko said:
So there are quite a few ways to give a recommendation in Japanese, depending on the nuance. For example, to say something like "you should buy ~" you could say:
買ったらいい
買えばいい
買うといい
買った方がいい
Looking at this conversation here:
A: 電子辞書を書いたんですけど、どこで買ったらいいですか。
B: ヨドバシカメラで買ったらいいです。
According to my teacher, the construction 買った方がいい would not be appropriate as the answer form, but all the other constructions would be fine. Does anyone know why? My text book actually treats the た方がいい construction as a different form, and lumps the other three together but I can't see what's different.
Also, I often ask friends 「どこへ行った方がいい？」 when asking where we should go (to have coffee etc). Considering the question, am I using the right construction here, or would one of the others be better?

As nhk9 explained so well, I've also never seen どこへ行った方がいい

And you didn't notice it I'm sure but this was another comment to Bucko-san's use in another thread...

ほうを使うのは、二者択一の場合や方向をしめす時です。
1. オレンジよりアップルのほうが好きです。
2. 九州のほうに行きます。右の方に曲がってください。

Much abused by kids today who use hou to mean a "direction" in general (Shigoto no hou ha dou ??) , but that's not permission for foreigners to match their disregard.

undrentide · 26 Jun 2007

Bucko said:
A: 電子辞書を書いたんですけど、どこで買ったらいいですか。
B: ヨドバシカメラで買ったらいいです。

I don't know why, but when someone is asking
～たらいい, somehow one tends to answer with ～といい.

e.g.
どこで買ったらいいですか。
ヨドバシカメラで買うといいですよ。

FrustratedDave · 26 Jun 2007

This may be a kansai thing, but "どこへ行った方がいい?" is perfectly fine to use, depending on the previous sentence. Down here it basically means "where is the best place to go?"

However check this statement out and I bet all you hyoujyungo goer's will gasp with disbelief and disgust. "その２つの車を比べたらこれしかいいと思う。" Translation, "between those two cars, I think this one is the best."

The7thSamurai · 26 Jun 2007

Ahh, I see how 方がいい works in this context now. It's the same as the ～の方が～より, and that's why, as nhk9 says, it sounds like a comparison against something. The たらいい/べいい/といい forms just mean "would be good", with no comparison implied. 方がいい kind of means "would be best", compared to all other options.

Thanks everyone!

Elizabeth · 26 Jun 2007

Bucko said:
So there are quite a few ways to give a recommendation in Japanese, depending on the nuance. For example, to say something like "you should buy ~" you could say:
買ったらいい
買えばいい
買うといい
買った方がいい
Looking at this conversation here:
A: 電子辞書を書いたんですけど、どこで買ったらいいですか。
B: ヨドバシカメラで買ったらいいです。
According to my teacher, the construction 買った方がいい would not be appropriate as the answer form, but all the other constructions would be fine. Does anyone know why? My text book actually treats the た方がいい construction as a different form, and lumps the other three together but I can't see what's different.

口語的には「方が｣を使う場合も多いですね。実際, 正確ではないかもしれませんが、、、

Giving recommendations

The7thSamurai

Master of the Universe

Elizabeth

先輩

nhk9

先輩

Elizabeth

先輩

undrentide

Japa'n vagyok

FrustratedDave

先輩

The7thSamurai

Master of the Universe

Elizabeth

先輩

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