～はさておき — Putting That Aside for Now
Means 'putting X aside (for now)' — temporarily shelving a topic to deal with something more urgent or relevant first. Unlike a permanent dismissal, it suggests the set-aside topic may be returned to later. Common when steering a conversation to the main point.
Structure
[Noun] + はさておき
Examples
冗談はさておき、真剣に考えよう。
Jōdan wa sateoki, shinken ni kangaeyō.
Joking aside, let's think about this seriously.
はさておき shelves the joking to move to serious discussion.
細かい点はさておき、まず全体の計画を決めよう。
Komakai ten wa sateoki, mazu zentai no keikaku o kimeyō.
Setting the details aside, let's first decide the overall plan.
はさておき puts the fine details on hold to focus on the big picture.
値段はさておき、このデザインは気に入った。
Nedan wa sateoki, kono dezain wa ki ni itta.
Price aside, I really like this design.
はさておき temporarily brackets the question of price to comment on the design.
• Register: neutral to slightly formal; common as a conversational pivot. • Frequently in the set phrase 冗談はさておき ('joking aside'). • Implies the topic is deferred, not dismissed forever.
Commonly confused with
The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones ～はさておき is tested against.
vs ～はともかく
はともかく judges the topic as less important; はさておき merely postpones it to handle the main matter first.
vs ～はぬきにして
はぬきにして excludes/removes the element; はさておき shelves it temporarily with the possibility of returning.
More connectives
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