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Advice/Advise

Advise vs. Advice

There is a key difference between the verb advise and the noun advice in English. The word advice is uncountable, meaning there is no plural form like “advices.” However, the Arabic equivalent for “advice,” نَصِيحَة (plural: نَصَائِح), is countable. This difference can sometimes cause mistranslations, such as:

أَوَدُّ أَنْ أُقَدِّمَ لَكُمْ بَعْضَ النَّصَائِحِ.

“I’d like to give you some advice.”

(Not “advices”)

A notable example is when numbers are involved:

وَجَّهَ لِي خَمْسَ نَصَائِحَ قَبْلَ مُغَادَرَتِي.

“He gave me five pieces of advice.”

(Not “advices”)

In English, the verb advise is typically followed by a structure like object + to + infinitive. By contrast, its Arabic equivalent, نَصَحَ, is followed by the complementizer أَنْ, for example:

بِمَ تَنْصَحُنِي أَنْ أَشْرَبَ بَعْدَ الْعَشَاءِ؟

“What would you advise me to drink after dinner?”

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