～を問わず — Regardless Of
を問わず means 'regardless of' or 'irrespective of', signaling that whatever precedes it does not affect or restrict the situation. It attaches to nouns that describe a range of possibilities (age, gender, experience, weather, season) and says the outcome holds across all of them. It is formal, common in announcements, job postings, and written notices.
Structure
[Noun] + を問わず
Examples
年齢を問わず、どなたでもご参加いただけます。
Nenrei o towazu, donata demo go-sanka itadakemasu.
Regardless of age, anyone is welcome to participate.
を問わず after the noun 年齢 shows age places no limit on who may join.
この店は昼夜を問わず営業している。
Kono mise wa chūya o towazu eigyō shite iru.
This shop is open regardless of day or night.
を問わず links the paired noun 昼夜 (day and night) to mean 'at all hours'.
経験の有無を問わず、社員を募集しています。
Keiken no umu o towazu, shain o boshū shite imasu.
We are recruiting staff regardless of whether they have experience.
有無を問わず ('whether or not there is') is a set collocation meaning experience is not a condition.
• Register: formal; typical in ads, notices, and official writing. • Often follows paired opposites: 男女を問わず, 昼夜を問わず, 国内外を問わず. • Cannot take a な-adjective or verb directly — it needs a noun.
Commonly confused with
The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones ～を問わず is tested against.
vs ～にかかわらず
にかかわらず is broader and can follow verbs and い/な-adjectives; を問わず attaches only to nouns and stresses that a category/distinction is not being questioned.
vs ～によらず
によらず means 'not depending on' a factor; を問わず specifically means the distinction itself is disregarded or not asked about.
More formal expressions
Study Japanese grammar on LenGaki
Everything on this page, free to browse
- 7,788 JLPT vocabulary words, N5 through N1, with readings and audio
- 2,057 kanji with on'yomi, kun'yomi and stroke-order practice
- 444 grammar points with examples and commonly-confused comparisons
- Full-length N5 and N4 mock exams, timed, with real listening audio
Get the Android app