ともかく

Functions

1. SENTENCE OPENER — "anyway, in any case":
Sets aside the previous topic to move to what matters.

• ともかく行(い)こう: let's go anyway
• ともかくやってみよう: let's try it anyway

2. ～はともかく — "setting ~ aside":
Acknowledges one thing but shifts focus to another. The set-aside item is marked with は, and what follows is the point being made.

• 値段(ねだん)はともかく: price aside
• 結果(けっか)はともかく: result aside
• 〜はともかくとして is a slightly heavier variant of the same pattern.

Similar words

• とにかく: more emphatic and insistent than ともかく ("just do it!"). 〜はともかく is the usual form of use 2; 〜はとにかく is heard but much less common.
• いずれにせよ: in any case (formal, written)

Forms

とにもかくにも is an emphatic literary form of ともかく.