adverbial N3 common casualpolitewritten

とにかく — anyway / in any case

とにかく

Meaning

anyway / in any case / at any rate — setting other matters aside to get to the main point

Key sentence

とにかく、急いそごう。

Anyway, let's hurry.

Usage

Brushes aside preceding details to prioritize what matters now. In casual emphasis it can also mean 'incredibly': とにかく寒さむい = 'it's freezing, no two ways about it.'

Examples

理由りゆうは後あとで聞きく。とにかく病院びょういんへ行いこう。

I'll hear the reason later. Anyway, let's get to the hospital.

細こまかいことはともかく、とにかくやってみよう。

Details aside, let's just give it a try.

Easily confused with

どうせとにかく = 'regardless, let's focus on this and act'; どうせ = resigned 'it won't matter anyway,' a defeatist read on the outcome. そもそもとにかく drops the back-story to move forward; そもそも goes the other way — back to the original premise.

See とにかく in real sentences

Jengo shows とにかく the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.

Study it in Jengo

Sources Compiled with reference to A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar.

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