es besser wissen

know better

→ es

phrase Rare #28,754

know better An idiomatic expression meaning that someone should have known that an action was wrong, unwise, or inappropriate. With müssen or sollen, it often means “should have known better” or “ought to know better.”

GE: Du solltest es besser wissen, als deinen Bruder anzulügen.

EN: You should know better than to lie to your brother.

In deinem Alter solltest du es besser wissen.

At your age you should know better.

Beim nächsten Mal werde ich es besser wissen.

Next time, I’ll know better.

Nun, da Sie ein Erwachsener sind, sollten Sie es besser wissen.

Now that you're an adult, you should know better.

Ihr hättet es besser wissen müssen.

You should have known better.

Sie hätten es besser wissen sollen.

They should have known better.

Ich hätte es besser wissen müssen, als das zu tun.

I should have known better than to do that.

In ihrem Alter sollte sie es besser wissen.

At her age she should know better.