modality N4 common casualpolite
〜たらどう — why don't you ~?
〜たらどう ・ たらどう
Builds on た形
Meaning
- why don't you ~? / how about ~ing? — suggests a course of action to the listener using a たら conditional left hanging
〜たらどう is literally 'if you did ~, how (would it be)?' with the second half trailed off. It proposes the action as a solution to the listener's situation, so it works as advice — but precisely because it tells the other person what to do, it can sound pushy or even nagging if the listener didn't ask. Gentler with friends, riskier upward.
Key sentence
疲れてるなら、少し休んだらどう？
If you're tired, why don't you rest a bit?
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb た-form (たら conditional) + どう | Vたら + どう(？) | 聞いたらどう / やめたらどう |
Examples
医者に相談したらどう。
Why don't you talk to a doctor?
自分で確かめてみたらどう？
How about checking it yourself?
そんなに心配なら、電話したらどう。
If you're that worried, why not give them a call?
Easily confused with
たらどうですか Same suggestion; たらどうですか is the polite-form version. Bare たらどう is casual (and the curter たらどうなの can sound impatient). 〜ほうがいい ほうがいい gives flat advice ('it's better to ~'); たらどう frames the same advice as a softer question put to the listener ('why don't you ~?'). 〜ばいい ばいい tells someone what would solve things ('you should just ~'); たらどう more openly invites them to consider it, rather than handing down the answer.
Notes
- Because it directs the listener, 〜たらどう is fine as friendly advice but can read as nagging when unsolicited or aimed at a superior — soften with a reason clause or switch to a humbler form.
See 〜たらどう in real sentences
Jengo shows 〜たらどう the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled from published Japanese grammar references.