Isn’t too bad at all.

Sources:

Tae Kim: Should

ほうがいい

Structure: ほう is a noun, so can modify it as such.

Use: For making suggestions. About yourself, or others. Can make the modifier past tense for a little more emphatic tone. For negation, it is common to negate the modifier (keeping present tense). Used very commonly in colloqial speech.

Ex.

この映画を見たほうがいいよ - “I/You should watch this movie”

病院に行くほうがいいですね - “You should go to the hospital”

遅すぎる起きないほうがいいよ - “You shouldn’t wake up too late”

べき

Structure: べき is a verb suffix. ONLY after verbs. Get a noun compound afterwards. With する, you can shorten it to すべき

Use: To describe something that “is suppose to” or “should” be done. You shouldn’t use it for other people though, since it has a strong tone, and can be rude. Although it “should” be done, it does not add the meaning that it is expected. Mainly used for things that you should do yourself. Used less commonly in colloqial speech.

Ex.

今は勉強すべきだよ - “I should study now”

夏の旅のために新しいカバンを買うべきですね - “I should buy a new bag for the summer trip”

休みにお金すぎを使うべきじゃない - “I should not spend too much money on vacation”

はず

Structure: はず is a noun, so can modify it as such.

Use: To express that that something is expected (suppose/should) to be a certain way. To negate, you are “not expecting something”, so you negate the noun at the end, rather than the modifier.

今年の夏休みが楽しいはずです - “This year’s summer vacation should be fun” / “I expect this year’s summer vacation to be fun”

彼が間に合うはずじゃない - “He should not be on time” / “I don’t expect him to be on time”

前回だから今回はおいしいはずじゃないです - “Because of last time, this time should not be delicious”




Vocab:

Here are some kanji from the lessons that I wasn’t really familiar with at this point: