noun
advice, council
B1
Means 'advice' (guidance) and 'council' (a board). It's a masculine noun: der Rat, plural Räte (umlaut). Common phrases: 'Rat geben/fragen' (to give/ask for advice). For institutional council use plural 'Räte'. Genitive singular often 'des Rates'. No special preposition; common collocations include 'einen Rat erteilen'.
Examples
Die Schülerin nahm seinen Rat an, weil der Lehrer erklärte, dass die Methode besser sei.
The student followed his advice because the teacher explained that the method was better.
Ich brauche einen guten Rat von dir.
I need some good advice from you.
Der Rat der Stadt hat gestern über das neue Gesetz beraten.
The city council met yesterday to discuss the new law.
Details
Mnemonics
Picture an older man (masculine) sitting in a chair giving calm advice to someone — the image links 'Rat' with guidance.
Sounds a bit like the English word 'rat' — imagine a rat whispering advice to remember 'Rat' = advice.
Der (masculine): imagine a male counselor (der Ratgeber) giving advice to anchor the masculine gender.
Notes
Rat can mean 'advice' (uncountable) or 'council' (a body); watch context. When meaning 'advice' it's often used without a plural, while 'Räte' refers to councils or advisory bodies.