N2 Exclusion and Setting Aside

~はさておき: meaning, usage and examples

~はさておき means: setting aside... / putting... to one side.

Updated 9 November 2026 · By the My Senpai team · Spotted a mistake? Tell us

Examples

1. 理由りゆうはさておき、まず謝あやまるべきだ。

   Setting aside the reason, you should apologize first.

2. 過去かこはさておき、これからが大事だいじだ。

   Putting the past aside, what matters is what happens from now on.

3. 細こまかい点てんはさておき、全体ぜんたいの方向ほうこう性せいを決きめましょう。

   Setting the details aside, let's decide on the overall direction.

4. それはさておき、来週らいしゅうの出張しゅっちょうの準備じゅんびはできましたか。

   Anyway, are you ready for next week's business trip?

When to use it

Means "setting X aside" in order to move to something more important or to change the topic. 冗談じょうだんはさておき、本題ほんだいに入はいりましょう means "Joking aside, let us get to the main point." Common in meetings, speeches and essays when the speaker deliberately drops a side issue and focuses on the main one.

Nuance

Slightly formal and a little more literary than はともかく. Set phrases: 冗談じょうだんはさておき (joking aside), それはさておき (anyway), 何なにはさておき (before anything else). The second clause often states a proposal, a priority or a judgment.

Compare

はともかく(として) often compares and evaluates: 値段ねだんはともかく、品質ひんしつはいい. はさておき tends to shelve a topic so the talk can move on: それはさておき、次つぎの話題わだいに移うつろう. はもとより does not set anything aside; it includes X as obvious: 英語えいごはもとより.

Tip: Learn the set phrases 何なにはさておき (first of all) and それはさておき (anyway). Both show up often in N2 reading passages.