を問(と)わずRegardless of, Whether or not, No matter, With or without

Structure

Noun + を問(と)わず⁽⁵⁾
Noun (A) + 、⁽¹⁾ + Noun (B) + を問(と)わず⁽⁵⁾
A⁽²⁾ + か + B⁽²⁾ + か + を問(と)わず⁽⁵⁾
A⁽³⁾ + (Antonym) A⁽³⁾ + を問(と)わず⁽⁵⁾
A⁽²⁾ + かどうか⁽⁴⁾ + を問(と)わず⁽⁵⁾
A⁽²⁾ + A［ない］⁽²⁾ + を問(と)わず⁽⁵⁾

⁽¹⁾ ・、と、や
⁽²⁾ Noun、［な］Adjective、［い］Adjective、 Verb
⁽³⁾ ［い］Adjective、［な］Adjective
⁽⁴⁾ か否(いな)か
⁽⁵⁾ を問(と)わない。

Details

About を問わず

を問(と)わず is a pattern which makes use of the special-class う-Verb 問(と)う 'to inquire' and the literary auxiliary verb ず, which connects with verbs in the same way, and carries the same meaning as ない. While the literal meaning of this grammar structure is 'without questioning (A), (B)', it is used more as a formal way to express 'regardless of (A), (B)', 'whether (A) or not, (B)', or 'with or without (A)', (B)'.

This structure is seen almost exclusively after nouns, but can also follow structures like か, or かどうか that are modifying adjectives. を will mark the 'question' which is 'not being asked'.

Occasionally, は will replace を at the beginning of 問わず. This puts further emphasis on contrast, and slightly strengthens the phrase overall.

Caution

Although を問(と)わず may be thought of as similar to 'regardless', there are actually situations where the nuance is closer to 'in any case for (A), (B)'. This is particularly true when (A) is being expressed as a scope. Let's compare を問(と)わず to に関(かか)わらず to see the difference.

彼(かれ)は昼夜(ちゅうや)を問(と)わず、ずっと働(はたら)いている。

Whether it is day or night, he is always working.
彼(かれ)は昼夜(ちゅうや)に関(かか)わらず、ずっと働(はたら)いている。

Regardless of day or night, he is always working.

Synonyms

Examples

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どんな役(やく)かは問(と)わず、主役(しゅやく)であればね。

Regardless of the role, if it is a leading role (it doesn't matter). (no matter)

私(わたし)は彼女(かのじょ)と結婚(けっこん)したい。手段(しゅだん)を問(と)わない。

I want to marry her! No matter what. (regardless・whether or not)

買(か)う買(か)わないを問(と)わず、商品(しょうひん)を試(ため)しに来(き)てください。

(Regardless of) whether you will buy it or not, please come and try the product.

好(す)き嫌(きら)いを問(と)わず探(さが)せば、仕事(しごと)は見(み)つかります。

Regardless of your likes and dislikes, if you look, you will find a job.

上手(うま)い下手(へた)を問(と)わず、習字(しゅうじ)の練習(れんしゅう)は続(つづ)けてください。

Whether you are good at it or bad at it, please continue to practice your penmanship (calligraphy). (regardless of)

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を問わず – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (5 in total)

Sidgr
It is that particular grammar:
てもらう
he77kat
Correct, I knew it was that grammar but I guess I didn’t know the nuance of “to get someone to do”. In that way it makes sense. I was thinking of it more as “I would like to hear (receive) the explanation”, not “I would like YOU to listen to the explanation”.
Fuga
Hey @he77kat !

The translation for this sentence is correct!

A more literal translation for this sentence would be ’ Whether or not you sign a contract, for the time being, I would like you to do the listening while I explain it to you.’

For the translation ‘I would like to hear the explanation’ to work, the Japanese sentence would have to be tweaked to something like 説明をしてもらいたい or 説明をしてほしい.

I hope this clears it up!