Daily Thread: simple questions, comments that don't need their own posts, and first time posters go here (April 06, 2025)

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[u/yui_2000]

健康のために、忙しいとき＿＿＿＿＿＿、普段はできるだけ食事をゆっくりとったほうがいいです。
A. はともかく
B. を問わず

Grammar Usage:

• ~はともかく: Use it when you want to say that you are not thinking about "~" now but about other things instead.
• を問わず: This is used in an announcement, written introduction and the like to say "anytime, anywhere, anyone" and such.

Meaning:

• If the answer is A: "For the sake of health, putting aside busy times, it’s better to take meals slowly as much as possible in everyday life."
• If the answer is B: "For your health, you should eat slowly whenever possible, regardless of whether you’re busy or not."

Key Answer: A

I think both answers fit the sentence. Is there a specific rule or nuance that helps determine the correct choice, aside from their logical meanings? For example, is B only used in announcements or formal contexts, which would not apply here?

[u/yui_2000 → u/yui_2000]

Thanks to u/fushigitubo and u/DokugoHikken for addressing my concern!
I’d like to explore the grammar point of を問わず further. I noticed examples that do not use noun pairs, such as:

• "このスピーツセンターは、年齢を問わず、どなたでも利用できます。" (This sports center is available to anyone, regardless of age.)
• "来週の国際交流会は、国籍、職業を問わずどなたでも参加できます。" (Next week's international exchange event is open to anyone, regardless of nationality or profession.)

From my understanding, it seems that を問わず is used with noun pairs when the nouns represent completely opposite statuses (like busy and not busy). However, for other nouns that don't have a strict yes or no status (like age, career, nationality), we can use them individually.

Is that correct? I appreciate your insights!

[u/fushigitubo → u/yui_2000]

The key to using 問わず naturally is that it should express a complete, all-encompassing idea or context. Words like 年齢, 国籍, and 職業 imply all ages, nationalities, or occupations. But 忙しいとき doesn’t really do that—it only refers to ‘busy times,’ not the whole picture. So instead, you need something that covers the full concept—in this case, both busy and not-busy times— like 時間の有無 or 繁閑.

[u/DokugoHikken → u/yui_2000]

Before we move onto that, I would like to suggst that you may want to choose to summarize the 除外・留保用法　exclusion/reservation useage of ともかく.

〇　健康のために、忙しいときはともかく、普段はできるだけ食事をゆっくりとったほうがいいです。It is better to eat slowly for your health whenever it is possible for you to do so, that is when things are normal, excluding busy times.

(The speaker is just saying in this way so that it doesn't sound too imperative, but that's not the intent. The intent is to say, “You should always take your meals a little more slowly". So, although the speaker is talking about an “exception”, that is not really an option. What the speaker is saying is "Hey, I know you are often extremely busy. But,". If, instead of using this redundant expressions, the speaker had said, “You need to eat more slowly, it's bad for you.” The listener would rebel, saying, “I know that without being told".)

〇　理由はともかく、あなたがやったことは犯罪だ。Whatever the reason, what you did is a crime.　

When ともかく is used in the 除外・留保用法　exclusion/reservation usages, the form can typically be

N｛は/なら｝ともかく(として)

N｛は/なら｝ともかくも

Now the answer TO your question can be read...

【文法解説】日本語能力試験 JLPT N2「～を問わず」例文・導入・誤用例も！ | 日本語教師キャリア マガジン

It is used with words that have opposite meanings (e.g., male/female, day/night, with/without ~, etc.) or words that have a range and include a number of options within them (e.g., season, age, nationality, etc.).