N2 · Expressions (N2)
しだい: depending on, and as soon as
depending on; as soon as
What a result depends on, and what will happen the moment something is done.
次第 after a noun says that a result depends on that noun: 天気次第で、予定を変えます, "we will change the plan depending on the weather"; あなた次第だ, "it is up to you". Before a verb it is 次第で; at the end of a sentence 次第だ or 次第です.
After the stem of a verb — the form before ます — it means "as soon as": 到着し次第、ご連絡します, "I will contact you as soon as I arrive". This is business language with a strict shape: the second half is something the speaker will do or asks somebody to do, and the whole sentence looks ahead.
That restriction is where English speakers go wrong. "As soon as I got to the station, it started to rain" is a past event nobody arranged, and 次第 cannot report it. A past "as soon as" is たとたん or とすぐ.
A third use, という次第です, closes a formal explanation: "that is how it came about". It sounds measured and responsible, which is why it is common in letters of apology and in reports to a superior.
The form
| depending on (before a verb) | 天気次第で |
| depends on (at the end) | あなた次第だ |
| as soon as (verb stem) | 分かり次第 |
| as soon as (する-verb) | 到着し次第 |
| that is how it came about | という次第です |
The rules one by one
After a noun, 次第 says what something depends on.
合否は面接の結果次第です。Whether you pass depends on the interview.
After a verb stem, 次第 means "as soon as", and only about the future.
準備ができ次第、出発します。We will set off as soon as we are ready.
The second half is something the speaker will do or asks for.
結果が分かり次第、お知らせください。Please let me know as soon as you have the results.
For a past "as soon as", use たとたん or とすぐ.
駅に着いたとたん、雨が降り出した。The moment I reached the station, it started to rain.
A closer look
しだい, とすぐ and たとたん
Japanese has several ways to say "as soon as", and they divide the work by time and by intention. 次第 looks ahead and promises an action: business letters, announcements, a receptionist on the phone. とすぐ and てすぐ are neutral and work for past and future alike.
たとたん is for the past, and for something that happened by itself, often to the speaker's surprise: the door opened and the cat ran out. If you can ask "who will do this?" and the answer is the speaker, 次第 fits; if the answer is "nobody, it just happened", it does not.
How to spot it
- 次第で
- 次第だ
- 次第です
- し次第
- という次第です
Example sentences
商品が入荷し次第、ご連絡いたします。We will contact you as soon as the item comes in.
成功するかどうかは、努力次第だ。Whether you succeed depends on how hard you work.
料金は距離次第で変わります。The fare varies with the distance.
雨がやみ次第、試合を再開します。The match will resume as soon as the rain stops.
考え方次第で、失敗も経験になる。Depending on how you look at it, even a failure becomes experience.
手続きに時間がかかり、ご返事が遅れたという次第です。The procedure took time, and that is why our reply was late.
7 more example sentences
詳しいことが決まり次第、お伝えします。I will let you know the details as soon as they are decided.
天候次第では、中止になることもあります。Depending on the weather, it may be cancelled.
社長が戻り次第、会議を始めます。We will start the meeting as soon as the president is back.
使い方次第で、道具は便利にも危険にもなる。Depending on how it is used, a tool can be helpful or dangerous.
行くかどうかは君次第だ。Whether we go is up to you.
書類が届き次第、手続きを始めてください。Please start the procedure as soon as the documents arrive.
席が空き次第、ご案内いたします。We will show you to a table as soon as one is free.
Worth knowing (1)
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しだいに means gradually
With に and standing on its own, 次第に is an adverb: "gradually", "little by little". It is the same word — "sequence", "order of things" — used for a change that happens in steps, and it is common in written description.
次第に空が明るくなってきた。Little by little the sky grew lighter.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
English "as soon as" works for the past as well as the future, and 次第 only looks ahead. It promises an action, so it cannot report something that already happened by itself, like a phone ringing. For the past, use たとたん or とすぐ.
しだい after a noun: it depends on that; after a verb stem: as soon as — and only for what is still to come.
Your turn
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