を問わず details
irrespective of; whatever the X — an attribute declared not to be a criterion
当社では、年齢や性別を問わず、意欲のある方を歓迎いたします。
tousha de wa, nenrei ya seibetsu o towazu, iyoku no aru kata o kangei itashimasu.
Our company welcomes motivated people irrespective of age or gender. formal
この図書館は、住んでいる場所を問わず誰でも利用できます。
kono toshokan wa, sunde iru basho o towazu dare demo riyou dekimasu.
Anyone can use this library regardless of where they live. neutral
- alternant
Examples
irrespective of X — an attribute that might have screened people out, explicitly declared not to
当社では、年齢や性別を問わず、意欲のある方を歓迎いたします。
tousha de wa, nenrei ya seibetsu o towazu, iyoku no aru kata o kangei itashimasu.
Our company welcomes motivated people irrespective of age or gender. formal
この図書館は、住んでいる場所を問わず誰でも利用できます。
kono toshokan wa, sunde iru basho o towazu dare demo riyou dekimasu.
Anyone can use this library regardless of where they live. neutral
あのバンド、世代を問わず人気あるよね。
ano bando, sedai o towazu ninki aru yo ne.
That band is popular across every generation, isn't it. casual
本サービスは昼夜を問わずご利用いただけます。
hon saabisu wa chuuya o towazu go riyou itadakemasu.
This service is available day or night. formal
Formation
{N}をとわずattaches to noun
Variant notes
- を問わない — the predicative shape, sentence-final instead of adverbial — 当社は学歴を問わない。
Notes
about. So it belongs on attributes and conditions a rule declines to screen on —
年齢, 経験, 国籍, 昼夜 — and reads oddly
on anything that was never going to be checked.
Related patterns
Similar
に限らず names ONE item the claim is not confined to and normally adds a further item with も (日本に限らず世界中で); を問わず names a whole DIMENSION and admits every value of it at once (国籍を問わず), so it needs no second item and cannot take one.
を問わず is 問う with a を-object, so the noun must be something that could be ASKED about — an attribute or criterion (年齢・経験・国籍) — and it takes a bare opposite pair only wrapped in か (行くか行かないかを問わず), where にかかわらず takes the pair juxtaposed and unwrapped (行く行かないにかかわらず).
Lookalikes
Same 名詞＋助詞＋ず shape and both gloss "regardless of", but を問わず is institutional and agentless — a rule waiving a criterion (年齢を問わず) — while もかまわず needs a human who KNEW they should mind and pressed on regardless (人目もかまわず), and always carries the speaker's verdict on them.