は別として|はべつとして
- 1Setting aside a particular factor so the speaker can make a judgment, or ask a question, about the rest.Ex. 1
- 2Regardless of which of several possibilities turns out to be true, the main statement still holds.Ex. 2
Verb (plain form)The plain (non-ます) forms of a verb: affirmative or negative, non-past or past.
行く・行かない・行った・行かなかった
The dictionary form is only one of these: 行く.
i-adj. (plain form)The plain (non-です) forms of an i-adjective: affirmative or negative, non-past or past.
高い・高くない・高かった・高くなかった
The dictionary form is only one of these: 高い. The polite version adds です to the plain form.
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Used in both speech and writing to put one factor aside and then state a judgment, a decision, or a question about the main matter, as in 値段は別として、サービスはどうでしたか。 It is common in evaluations such as price, appearance, or results, and when a plan holds regardless of circumstances. Compared with はさておき and はともかく, it is a fairly neutral, everyday way to exclude a factor from consideration.
Note that with a question-type clause, か or かどうか must come before は別として, as in 雨か晴れかは別として.
Note that the clause after は別として carries the main point and may be a judgment, a decision, or a question about the remaining matter.
Note that the set-aside factor is not denied or dismissed as unimportant; the speaker simply leaves it out of the current discussion.
- 1.はさておきN1「はさておき」is interchangeable with 「は別として」in the sense of setting the first item aside for now, and it can also attach to 「かどうか」. However, it sounds slightly more formal and is often used to change the topic, as in 「それはさておき」or「冗談はさておき」, and it generally does not mean that the first item is an exception.
- 2.はともかくN2「はともかく」is close in meaning and interchangeable in most situations, attaching in basically the same way. It focuses on setting the first item aside to move on to the second item the speaker wants to talk about more, often implying some reservation about the first item; when the first item is an exception, 「は別として」is the more fitting choice.
- 3.を除いてN2「を除いて」attaches only to nouns, objectively and clearly excluding an item from the scope; it is fairly written in style and common in notices and news. It matches only the 'exception' sense of 「は別として」— it has no 'setting aside for now' use and cannot attach to embedded question clauses.
- 4.ならいざしらずN1「ならいざしらず」is close only to the exception-marking use of 「は別として」, but it puts more weight on the contrast between the two situations, and its second clause is often a negation, a criticism, or a judgment that something is 'impossible.' It is written language, whereas 「は別として」is neutral in tone.
はさておき and はともかく likewise set a topic aside to move on to something considered more important, while を除いて more plainly means 'except for' and removes an item from a group or range. ならいざしらず contrasts a hypothetical or exceptional case ('if it were X, that would be one thing') with the actual case, which is then usually criticized.
