〜のもとで: 'Under the Guidance/Environment Of' (Meaning + Examples)
Marking guidance, authority, or conditions
〜のもとで says an action happens while under the influence, supervision, or condition of the noun before it — a mentor, an authority, a set of circumstances, or an environment.
やったんは有名な先生のもとで研究を続けています。
やったんは ゆうめいな せんせいのもとで けんきゅうを つづけています。
Yattan continues his research under a famous professor.
先生のもとで = under the professor's guidance/supervision.
モチとやったんは、厳しい条件のもとで、プロジェクトを成功させた。
モチと やったんは、きびしい じょうけんのもとで、プロジェクトを せいこうさせた。
Mochi and Yattan, under strict conditions, made the project a success.
やったんは温かい家庭のもとで幸せな子供時代を過ごした。
やったんは あたたかい かていのもとで しあわせな こどもじだいを すごした。
Yattan spent a happy childhood under a warm family environment.
Attaching to a noun
〜のもとで attaches directly after a noun describing a person, authority, law, or condition. Dropping で and using 〜のもとに shifts focus slightly to "on the basis of" a condition (often with abstract nouns like 合意 or 契約).
| Attaches to | Pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Person (mentor/authority) | N + のもとで | 教授のもとで学ぶ |
| Condition/environment | N + のもとで | 良い環境のもとで育つ |
| Law/principle (often もとに) | N + のもとに | 法律のもとに平等だ |
この規則のもとでは、全員が同じ扱いを受ける。
この きそくのもとでは、ぜんいんが おなじ あつかいを うける。
Under this rule, everyone is treated the same way.
のもとでは adds は to contrast this rule with others.
Don't confuse with 〜のもとに and 〜の下に (literal)
〜のもとで leans toward an ongoing activity happening within someone's guidance or an environment (studying, growing, working). 〜のもとに is common with abstract bases for a decision or state — 合意のもとに (on the basis of an agreement). Neither is the same as the literal 木の下に (physically under a tree) — that's just 下 as a location word, with no figurative "influence" meaning.
The short version
- 〜のもとで = "under / with / in the environment of" — an action happens within someone's guidance or a set of conditions.
- Attaches to: Noun + のもとで (person, authority, condition, environment).
- Nuance/register: figurative "under the influence of," not literal physical location.
- Don't confuse with: 〜のもとに (basis for a decision/state) or literal 下に (physical "beneath").
Practice it
Choose のもとで when a noun marks the guidance, authority, or condition something happens under.
＿＿＿に入れるのに最もよいものを選びなさい。
＿＿＿研究を続けています。
Where 〜のもとで fits
Shaky on this? Get these solid first
- で · N5 — The particle で marks where an action happens, the means or tool you use, the material, the cause, and the scope of a superlative. Learn each use and how で differs from に.
More N2 grammar to explore
Keep going with related patterns at the same level:
- 〜抜きで — 〜抜きで attaches to a noun to mean 'leaving out', 'skipping', or 'without' — 冗談抜きで (joking aside, seriously). It signals that something normally present is deliberately omitted from what follows.
- 〜抜く — 抜く as a main verb means 'to pull out/extract' — 栓を抜く (pull out a stopper). Attached to a verb's ます-stem, it becomes a suffix meaning 'do all the way through despite difficulty' — 生き抜く (survive to the end), やり抜く (see it through).
- 〜おまけに — おまけに is a sentence-connecting conjunction meaning 'to make matters worse', 'on top of that', or 'what's more'. It piles a second unwelcome fact onto an already bad situation described in the previous sentence.
- せいぜい — せいぜい is an adverb meaning 'at most,' 'at best,' or 'only' — せいぜい100ドル足らず ('at most, barely 100 dollars'). It caps an estimate at its upper limit, usually implying that limit is smaller or less impressive than expected.
- 〜て以来 — 〜て以来 attaches to the て-form of a one-time past event to mean 'ever since...' — 日本に来て以来、毎日が楽しい. It marks a turning point after which a new state has continued unbroken.
- 〜と同時に — 〜と同時に attaches to a plain-form verb or noun to mean 'at the same time as / as soon as' — ベルが鳴ると同時に生徒が出た. It links two events happening simultaneously, or one triggering the other instantly.