16007
I know 方 can be used for constructions with verbs' ta forms, but can it also
be use with things like nouns, adjectives, etc.? My understanding previously
was that it was all the same word, but should you write "hou" differently,
depending on whether you're using it for a verb or for something else?

> そのほうがいい
>
> その方がいい
>
> 行かない方がいい
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-05-17T17:25:47.500
16003
2015-11-25T19:15:36.930
2020-06-17T08:18:27.500
-1
1771
question
kanji
Is it correct to write その方がいい, or do you have to write そのほうがいい?
Again, looking at the results from BCCWJ

```

    5576 ほうがいい
     747 ほうが良い
    1733 方がいい
    4839 方が良い
    
```

方がいい is "correct", at least descriptively speaking, although the results also
suggest that if you're going to write 方 in 漢字, you might as well write 良い with
漢字 as well.

As for the difference between 漢字 with the use of nouns and verbs, we can check
for nouns

```

    523 のほうがいい
     73 のほうが良い
    551 の方がいい
    203 の方が良い
    
```

for verbs

```

    3754 たほうがいい
     502 たほうが良い
    1181 た方がいい
    3121 た方が良い
    
```

and for negated verbs (and negated i-adjectives)

```

    722 ないほうがいい
     86 ないほうが良い
    607 ない方がいい
    188 ない方が良い
    
```

This looks like 方 is slightly more often written in 漢字 when accompanying a
noun (この方 and その方 account for 51 results), and sightly more often written in
かな, when accompanying a verb.

(And lastly, そのほう has 53, その方 45 results.)
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-05-17T18:49:35.777
16007
2014-05-17T19:17:41.840
2014-05-17T19:17:41.840
1628
1628
16003
answer