〜ことだ koto da

〜ことだ（koto da）means “you should ...; the best thing is to ... (advice)”. Used to give advice or a strong recommendation, telling someone the best course of action: 'the thing to do is . Formation: V-る／V-ない ＋ ことだ

you should ...; the best thing is to ... (advice)

N2

Formation

V-る／V-ない ＋ ことだ

Explanation

Used to give advice or a strong recommendation, telling someone the best course of action: 'the thing to do is ...'. The negative form V-ないことだ means 'you'd better not ...'. Spoken to someone in a slightly admonishing tone.

Examples

上達したければ、毎日練習することだ。
じょうたつしたければ、まいにちれんしゅうすることだ。
If you want to improve, you should practice every day.
体に悪いから、あまり無理をしないことだ。
からだにわるいから、あまりむりをしないことだ。
It's bad for your health, so you'd better not overdo it.

Note

Don't confuse with 〜ことだ expressing emotion (e.g. うれしいことだ). For advice it follows a verb's dictionary or ない form. Avoid using it upward to superiors.

FAQ

〜ことだ — what does it mean and how is it used?

you should ...; the best thing is to ... (advice). Used to give advice or a strong recommendation, telling someone the best course of action: 'the thing to do is ...'. The negative form V-ないことだ means 'you'd better not ...'. Spoken to someone in a slightly admonishing tone.

〜ことだ — how do you form it?

V-る／V-ない ＋ ことだ

〜ことだ — any usage notes?

Don't confuse with 〜ことだ expressing emotion (e.g. うれしいことだ). For advice it follows a verb's dictionary or ない form. Avoid using it upward to superiors.

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