方がよかった

should have; would have been better

→ 方

phrase Rare #34,913

should have; would have been better Used after a verb in the past or negative form to say that doing—or not doing—something would have been better. It can also compare two options, as in 前の方がよかった (the previous one was better).

JA: もっと早く相談した方がよかった。

EN: I should have asked for advice sooner.

前の方がよかったよね

The previous one was better, wasn’t it?

— 君の名は。 (2016)

私たちはそれをやっておいた方がよかったかもしれない。

Maybe we should have done that.

彼女は役に立つと私は思ったのだが、実際はいない方がよかったのだ。

I thought she would be useful, but as it turned out, it would have been better if she hadn't been there.

見ない方がよかった

I wish I hadn’t seen it.

— デッド・ドント・ダイ (2019)

黙ってた方がよかったんだよね？

I should have kept quiet, right?