次第だ／次第で— It All Depends

• 行くかどうかは天気次第だ。

  Iku ka dou ka wa tenki shidai da.

  Whether we go or not depends on the weather.

  Noun 天気 + 次第だ ends the sentence, marking weather as the deciding factor.

• 考え方次第で、人生は大きく変わる。

  Kangaekata shidai de, jinsei wa ookiku kawaru.

  Depending on your way of thinking, life can change greatly.

  Noun 考え方 + 次第で connects to the result clause showing life varies with mindset.

• 努力次第では、合格も夢ではない。

  Doryoku shidai de wa, goukaku mo yume de wa nai.

  Depending on your effort, passing is not just a dream.

  次第では adds 'depending on the case', stressing effort as the variable factor.

• ・次第だ closes a clause; 次第で / 次第では leads into the varying result.
• ・Attaches to nouns only for this meaning.
• ・Register: fairly formal but common in everyday advice and writing.

Commonly confused with

The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones 次第だ／次第で is tested against.

• ～あまり(に) — So Much That It Overwhelms
• ～おかげで — Thanks To
• ～せいで — Because Of (And I Blame It)
• ～せいか — Perhaps Because Of
• ～からといって — Just Because
• ～ことから — Judging From The Fact
• だけあって — Living Up to It
• ～につれて — As One Thing Changes, So Does Another