〜ならともかく
JLPT N2:if X, perhaps; but not Y
Sets one case aside as understandable or debatable, then contrasts it with a case that is harder to accept.
How to form it
- Put ならともかく after the case you can set aside: 子供ならともかく.
- The case after it is less acceptable, less realistic or more extreme than X.
Examples
子供ならともかく、大人がそんな言い訳をするのは困る。
That excuse might be understandable from a child, but not from an adult.
一日ならともかく、一週間も休むことはできない。
One day might be possible, but I cannot take a whole week off.
Common mistakes
- Making the second case more acceptable than the first.
- Reading ともかく only as the standalone word “anyway”.
Similar meaning
- 〜ならまだしもX perhaps, but not Y
ならまだしも makes the concession and criticism stronger; the two often overlap.