Лучше вызвать сантехника.

It is better to call a plumber.

Breakdown of Лучше вызвать сантехника.

• лучше: better
• вызвать сантехника: to call a plumber

Questions & Answers about Лучше вызвать сантехника.

What does лучше mean here?

Here лучше means it would be better or you’d better.

It is the comparative form of хорошо (well / good in an adverbial sense), but in this kind of sentence it works as an impersonal recommendation:

• Лучше вызвать сантехника. = It’s better to call a plumber.
• Literally: Better to call a plumber.

There does not have to be an explicit than... phrase. The comparison is understood from context.

Why is вызвать in the infinitive?

Because after лучше in this structure, Russian usually uses an infinitive to name the action being recommended.

So the pattern is:

• Лучше + infinitive

Examples:

• Лучше подождать. = It’s better to wait.
• Лучше уйти сейчас. = It’s better to leave now.
• Лучше вызвать сантехника. = It’s better to call a plumber.

This is a very common way to give advice in Russian.

Why is it вызвать and not вызывать?