～はともかく— Setting That Aside

• 味はともかく、量は十分だ。

  Aji wa tomokaku, ryō wa jūbun da.

  Taste aside, the quantity is plenty.

  はともかく sets taste aside as secondary and focuses on the quantity.

• 結果はともかくとして、よく頑張った。

  Kekka wa tomokaku to shite, yoku ganbatta.

  Regardless of the result, you did your best.

  はともかくとして downplays the result to praise the effort instead.

• 平日はともかく、週末は必ず休みたい。

  Heijitsu wa tomokaku, shūmatsu wa kanarazu yasumitai.

  Weekdays aside, I definitely want the weekend off.

  はともかく treats weekdays as negotiable while emphasizing the weekend.

• ・Register: neutral, common in speech and writing.
• ・Implies the first item is less important or debatable, not the focus.
• ・Can add として with no change in meaning.

Commonly confused with

The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones ～はともかく is tested against.

• に応えて — In Response To / Living Up To
• ～も～ば～も — Both This And That
• ～ことは～が — True, But…
• ～つつ — While / Even Though
• ～というと／といえば／といったら — Speaking Of
• にかかわらず — Regardless Of / Irrespective Of
• にせよ〜にせよ — Whichever the Case
• にもかかわらず — In Spite of It All