たらどうですか — Why don't you / How about (polite suggestion)
A polite suggestion form. "Why don't you / how about doing X?" Softer and more formal than たらどう.
Structure
[Verb た-form] + らどうですか
Examples
先生に相談してみたらどうですか？
Sensei ni soudan shite mitara dou desu ka?
Why don't you try consulting the teacher?
相談してみたら + どうですか (polite suggestion)
少し休んだらどうですか。
Sukoshi yasundara dou desu ka.
How about resting for a bit?
休んだら + どうですか
疲れているなら、今日は早く帰ったらどうですか。
Tsukarete iru nara, kyou wa hayaku kaettara dou desu ka.
If you're tired, why don't you go home early today?
帰ったら + どうですか (polite suggestion)
• Politeness: たらどう (casual) < たらどうですか (polite). • Even politer: たらいかがですか (very formal, used in business/service). • Summary: A caring suggestion form, not a command.
Commonly confused with
The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones たらどうですか is tested against.
vs 〜ほうがいい
ほうがいい gives direct advice ('you'd better ~'); たらどうですか is a softer suggestion phrased as a question ('why don't you ~?'), less pushy.
vs 〜ば / 〜たら (plain conditional)
The bare conditional just states 'if'; たらどうですか adds どう(ですか) to turn it into a proposal — 'if you did X, how about it?' = a recommendation.
More expressions
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