〜をよそに

Ignoring/despite

Level 4Sounds Like woyosoni

The pattern 〜をよそに is used when someone ignores or disregards something significant—like other people's worries, expectations, or a major social situation—and continues their own behavior as if those things don't matter.

How It Works

1. Usage and Nuance
This expression is primarily used to describe a third party (he, she, they, or an organization) ignoring external circumstances. It is generally not used to describe the speaker's own actions. It has two main nuances:

  • Critical/Negative: To point out that someone is being insensitive or irresponsible by ignoring the feelings or advice of others.
  • Contrastive/Neutral: To describe a situation that remains unaffected by external circumstances (e.g., a business thriving despite a recession).

2. Grammatical Structure
This pattern is used with nouns or nominalized verbs that represent emotions, reactions, or social conditions:

  • Noun + をよそに (e.g., 心配（しんぱい）をよそに)
  • Verb-る + の + をよそに (e.g., 反対（はんたい）するのをよそに)

3. Tense Restriction
The clause following 〜をよそに must describe a current state or a completed action. It is not used for future intentions, predictions, or requests. For example, you cannot say "Ignoring the rain, I will go out."; instead, it describes what someone is doing or did.

4. Register
This is a formal, literary expression found in novels and news reports. While 〜に関わらず is also formal, it is more neutral. In casual conversation, people prefer using verbs like 無視（むし）して (ignoring) or 気（き）にしないで (without worrying about).

Examples (4)

  1. 親の心配をよそに、彼は大学を辞めて海外へ行ってしまった。

    Ignoring his parents' worries, he dropped out of college and went abroad.

    Word by Word: Parents' worry (object) ignoring, he university quit abroad to went.

    This is a classic usage showing indifference to the emotional state of others (the parents).

  2. その店は、不景気をよそに着実に売り上げを伸ばしている。

    That store is steadily increasing its sales, regardless of the recession.

    Word by Word: That store, recession (object) ignoring, steadily sales (object) extending is.

    Here, the pattern shows a contrast between the general economic situation and the specific success of the store.

  3. 周囲が反対するのをよそに、二人は結婚を決めた。

    Ignoring the fact that those around them were opposing it, the two decided to get married.

    Word by Word: Surroundings oppose (nominalizer) (object) ignoring, two people marriage (object) decided.

    This example uses a nominalized verb phrase (Verb + の) to show that the action of others was ignored.

  4. 住民の不安をよそに、ダムの建設工事が始まった。

    Ignoring the residents' anxiety, the dam construction work began.

    Word by Word: Residents' anxiety (object) ignoring, dam's construction work started.

    This usage often appears in news reports to highlight a lack of consideration for public sentiment.

Common Mistakes

  • Using it for your own positive efforts against obstacles.

    私は疲れをよそに、仕事を続けた。
    私は疲れを<grammar expression="をものともせず">ものともせず</grammar>、仕事を続けた。

    〜をよそに implies 'indifference' or 'disregard' for external voices/situations. If you are overcoming a personal physical hurdle like fatigue or a storm with bravery, use 〜をものともせず instead.

  • Using it for mechanical ignoring (like a traffic light).

    赤信号をよそに、車が通り過ぎた。
    赤信号を無視して、車が通り過ぎた。

    〜をよそに requires a 'context,' 'atmosphere,' or 'human feeling' that is being ignored. For simple mechanical actions like ignoring a signal, use 無視（むし）して.

How It Connects

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〜をよそにLevel 4Ignoring/despite

Learn This First

〜をよそに is a formal expression used to describe someone performing an action while completely disregarding the concerns, expectations, or situations of others. To understand this pattern, a learner must be comfortable with basic particle usage (を and に) and how nouns function as the object of this disregard.

Words in This Pattern

余所