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JLPT N2Formal Expressions

～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.

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Pro lessonUNIT 61 · FORMAL EXPRESSIONS

Structure · 形

[Noun] + を問わず

Examples · 例文

  • 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.

Usage notes · 注意

  • 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

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