～を問わず
regardless of
～を問わず（をとわず）attaches to a noun and means that the statement holds regardless of that noun. It comes from the verb 問う（とう）, “to ask, to question”, plus the classical negative ず, literally “without questioning”.
It is common in formal writing such as job ads, notices, and announcements, and typically follows nouns that name a category or range: age, gender, experience, season, day and night. A close relative is ～にかかわらず, which is broader; ～を問わず sounds more formal and sticks to these category-style nouns.
Regardless of a category
The clause after ～を問わず is true no matter which value the noun takes.
年齢を問わず、誰でも参加できる。
“Anyone can participate, regardless of age.”
- 年齢（ねんれい）= age
- を問わず（をとわず）= regardless of
- 誰でも（だれでも）= anyone
- 参加できる（さんかできる）= can participate
この店は昼夜を問わず営業している。
“This shop is open day and night.”
- この店（このみせ）= this shop
- は = topic marker
- 昼夜（ちゅうや）= day and night
- を問わず（をとわず）= regardless of
- 営業している（えいぎょうしている）= is open (for business)
How to form it
Noun + を問わず
- 年齢（ねんれい）= age → 年齢を問わず（ねんれいをとわず）= regardless of age
- 性別（せいべつ）= gender → 性別を問わず（せいべつをとわず）= regardless of gender
- 経験（けいけん）= experience → 経験を問わず（けいけんをとわず）= regardless of experience
Key idea
～を問わず means “we don't even ask about that”: whatever the age, gender, or season may be, it makes no difference to the statement that follows.
Other N2 grammar
Updated .