Learn French: Il ne répond pas ; il vaut mieux raccrocher. - He is not answering; it is better to hang up.

While both mean "it is better," il vaut mieux is a fixed impersonal expression frequently used to give advice or state a preferred action. C'est mieux de is also highly common, especially in casual spoken French, but il vaut mieux is the standard, slightly more polished way to express this.

Why isn't there a de before raccrocher?

The expression il vaut mieux is always followed directly by an infinitive, with no preposition. Learners often mistakenly add de because of similar phrases like c'est mieux de or il est temps de, but valoir mieux always takes the bare infinitive.

Which verb does vaut come from in this expression?

It comes from the irregular verb valoir, which means "to be worth." Therefore, the phrase il vaut mieux literally translates to "it is worth better."

What is the opposite of raccrocher (to hang up)?

The opposite is décrocher (to pick up the phone). Both words relate to the idea of a hook (un crochet): décrocher literally means to "unhook" the receiver to answer, and raccrocher means to hook it back up.