Lesson 9
Regardless / Setting Aside
- 1 〜を問わず ~o towazu regardless of (age, nationality, weather) The job-ad word: 年齢・経験・国籍を問わず.
- 2 〜にかかわらず ~ni kakawarazu regardless of / irrespective of Do it or not, the result is the same — 来る来ないにかかわらず.
- 3 〜もかまわず ~mo kamawazu heedless of / not caring about Not caring who is watching — 人目もかまわず.
- 4 〜はともかく ~wa tomokaku never mind ~; what matters is … Whatever the atmosphere, the food is great — 雰囲気はともかく、味は最高.
- 5 〜はさておき ~wa sateoki setting ~ aside (let's get to the point) Leave the current topic and go to the main point — 「冗談はさておき」= joking aside.
- 6 〜はまだしも ~wa madashimo N might be acceptable, but… Twenty minutes I could take, but an hour! — 20分ならまだしも.
- 7 〜抜きで ~nuki de without / leaving ~ out With that deliberately taken out — 「わさび抜きで」= without wasabi.
- 8 〜を抜きにしては…ない ~o nuki ni shite wa … nai without ~, … is impossible Without that it simply cannot happen — 「先輩の助けを抜きにしては、終わらなかった」(without my senior's help it would never have been finished).
Lesson check
All 8 forms of this lesson together — pick the right one from its look-alikes, the way the exam does. 6/8 completes the lesson.
🔒
「このスーパーでは、年齢や経験＿、アルバイトを募集しています。」(job notice) — fill the blank.
💡 Hint:The 'any is fine' of job adverts.
N を問わず = a wide-range factor (age, experience) is not asked; open to all. もかまわず criticises someone's heedless behaviour, not for an advert.
「面接の結果は、採用するしない＿、メールでお知らせします。」— fill the blank.
💡 Hint:A verb pair (する・しない) comes before the blank.
Dictionary + ない + にかかわらず = same outcome whether or not. を問わず takes only nouns, never a verb pair.
「彼は人目＿、駅のホームで大声で電話していた。」— fill the blank.
💡 Hint:What follows is surprising behaviour, said with criticism.
N もかまわず = heedless of something one should mind (人目), describing another's odd behaviour. にかかわらず means 'same result regardless', not 'ignoring'.
「このアパートは、広さ＿、駅から近いのが便利だ。」— fill the blank.
💡 Hint:Set A aside, stress B (a good point).
N はともかく = set A aside and stress B; B may be positive. はまだしも needs a negative, unacceptable B after it.
「一日や二日＿、一週間も休むのは無理です。」— which says 'that much is fine, but this much is too much'?
💡 Hint:A small thing is bearable, a big one is not.
N はまだしも = A would still be acceptable, but B (無理) is not. にかかわらず means 'same either way' and does not contrast A with B.
Which sentence is unnatural?
💡 Hint:What can come before を問わず?
を問わず takes only nouns (年齢・有無); a verb pair like 来る来ない needs にかかわらず.
Which sentence is unnatural?
💡 Hint:What kind of clause must follow を抜きにしては?
N を抜きにしては must end in 'not possible' (〜ない・無理だ); a positive 成功できました is wrong. 抜きで／抜きにして have no such restriction.
In a meeting everyone is joking; you want to stop the chatter and get back to the shift schedule — which?
💡 Hint:Put the current topic aside, move to the main one.
N はさておき = set the ongoing topic aside and move to the important one. もかまわず criticises someone's heedless behaviour, not your own change of topic.
Your score: /8