〜次第では|〜しだいでは
Means 'depending on X' and highlights one particular outcome, often serious or unwelcome, that could result from how X turns out. The main clause usually expresses possibility.
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It is common in both speech and writing, especially in warnings, forecasts and negotiations. The main clause typically ends with possibility expressions such as かもしれない, こともある or 得る. Where 次第で simply states that a result depends on X, 次第では singles out one possible case among several.
Learners sometimes end the main clause with a definite statement, but it normally expresses possibility with かもしれない, こともある or 得る.
Do not confuse it with 次第 after a verb's ます-stem, which means 'as soon as' and has nothing to do with dependence.
Note that 次第では attaches directly to a noun, with no の in between.
- 1.次第だ / 次第でN2次第だ / 次第で simply states that the outcome depends on the preceding item; it can end a sentence as 次第だ, and the outcome that follows may be good or bad. 次第では cannot end a sentence — it highlights an exceptional, usually unfavorable result that may arise under certain conditions, and often pairs with かもしれない.
- 2.次第N2次第 covers a wider range: it can mean 'as soon as' (attaching to the masu-stem, i.e. the ます form minus ます, or to action nouns) as well as 'depending on,' stated neutrally with 次第だ / 次第で. 次第では is just one of these uses, reserved for stressing an exceptional result.
- 3.いかんでは / いかんによってはN1いかんでは and いかんによっては mean essentially the same thing and are generally interchangeable with it when attaching to nouns. They sound stiffer and more formal, appearing mainly in notices, official documents, and news reports; の can be added after the noun, as in 結果のいかんでは.
- 4.にかかっているN1にかかっている is a sentence-final predicate, typically in the pattern 〜は…にかかっている, that flatly asserts success or failure hinges entirely on one factor; it carries real weight and can also take かどうか. 〜次第では only signals an exceptional outcome in certain cases, so the two cannot be swapped directly.
- 5.によって / によるN3によって also expresses cause and means. In the 'varies depending on...' sense it is close to 次第では, and によっては is often interchangeable with it; 次第では stresses that the result depends on the preceding item, while によっては focuses on particular cases.
次第だ/次第で states a general dependence, whereas 次第では points to one specific possible outcome, and verb-stem 次第 means 'as soon as'; いかんでは/いかんによっては is a more formal equivalent. にかかっている stresses that X is the decisive factor rather than raising a possible result, and によって/による covers broader 'depending on/by means of' uses, with によっては being closest in meaning.
