はともかく details
leaving X aside; never mind X — X is set aside as not the point, and Y is
見た目はともかく、味は最高だからさ。
mitame wa tomokaku, aji wa saikou da kara sa.
Never mind how it looks, the taste is unbeatable. casual
価格はともかく、この機種は使いやすさで選ばれている。
kakaku wa tomokaku, kono kishu wa tsukaiyasusa de erabarete iru.
Price aside, this model gets picked for how easy it is to use. neutral
- alternant
Examples
leaving X aside — X is waved off as not what is at issue, and the real claim lands on Y
見た目はともかく、味は最高だからさ。
mitame wa tomokaku, aji wa saikou da kara sa.
Never mind how it looks, the taste is unbeatable. casual
価格はともかく、この機種は使いやすさで選ばれている。
kakaku wa tomokaku, kono kishu wa tsukaiyasusa de erabarete iru.
Price aside, this model gets picked for how easy it is to use. neutral
細かい表現はともかく、ご提案の趣旨には賛同いたします。
komakai hyougen wa tomokaku, go teian no shushi ni wa sandou itashimasu.
Leaving the finer wording aside, we agree with the thrust of your proposal. formal
Formation
{N}はともかくattaches to noun
Variant notes
- はともかくとして — the fuller shape, a shade more deliberate and commoner in writing — 値段はともかくとして、味は確かだ。
Notes
always about Y — so はともかく needs a second term and cannot close a sentence.
Related patterns
Similar
にかかわらず says the variable's value does not move the outcome, and stands on its own; はともかく DEFERS X as a matter still to be settled and demands a contrasting Y to be the point instead (味はともかく、値段が高い) — strip the second clause away and はともかく has nothing left to do.
Lookalikes
The same は＋bare noun frame doing opposite work — はもとより grants X as too obvious to argue and ADDS Y on top of it, so Y's claim covers X too (子どもはもとより大人にも); はともかく pushes X out of the claim entirely, so what holds of Y is explicitly not being asserted of X.