“tonikaku” vs. “tomokaku”: Why Do You Still Get Confused?
What is the difference between “とにかく(tonikaku) and ともかく(tomokaku)”? Which is often used in daily conversations? After reading this, you would be answering this question. Let me introduce what their subtle differences are and how you correctly use them such as native speakers today!
とにかく (tonikaku)
Anyway(s) / 总之 / 하여튼 / Trước hết
“とにかく(tonikaku)” means “Anyway(s)” and which has been used as the meaning of “whatever else is happening, without considering other things”. The basic way to use it is “とにかく___(Anyway ___ or ___ anyway)”, etc. For instance, “とにかく行った方がいい。(You should go there anyway.)”, “とにかくビールで。(Anyway, I’ll just have a beer.)”, “とにかく書いた。(Anyway, I just wrote.)”, etc. The tips for using it are that “とにかく” is used when you are IN A HURRY and you want to do or order something. Everybody could use “とにかく” in daily conversations as casual and in business situations as formal such as “とにかく書いたよ。(Anyway, I just wrote.)” as casual and “とにかく書きました。(Anyway, I just wrote.)” as formal and which is also used as polite. Furthermore, again “とにかく” is used when you are in a hurry, so some people would get a negative impression.
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Sample
yukaごめん、今忙しいから、とにかく後でメールして！ (I’m sorry, but I’m tied up now. Email me later anyway.) (对不起，我现在很忙，总之请稍后给我发电子邮件！) (미안, 지금 바빠서, 하여튼 나중에 문자 해!) (Xin lỗi, bây giờ tôi đang bận nên trước mắt hãy gửi thư điện tử sau đi!) (gomen, ima isogashī kara, tonikaku atode mēru shite!)
tatsuyaとにかく行った方がいいよ。 (You should go there anyway.) (总之你还是去比较好。) (하여튼 가는 편이 좋아.) (Dù gì thì trước hết cứ nên đi đi đã.) (tonikaku itta hō ga ī yo.)
yukaとにかくこれ預かってくれない？ (Anyways, can you hold on to this?) (总之可以帮我保管一下吗？) (하여튼 이거 맡아주지 않을래?) (Tạm thời bạn có thể giữ cái này giúp tôi được không?) (tonikaku kore azukatte kurenai?)
tatsuyaとにかく、誰が責任を取るの？ (Anyways, who’s going to take responsibility for this?) (总之可以帮我保管一下吗？) (하여튼 이거 맡아주지 않을래?) (Tạm thời bạn có thể giữ cái này giúp tôi được không?) (tonikaku, dare ga sekinin wo toru no?)
ともかく (tomokaku)
Apart from, Aside from, More importantly / 总之 / 어쨌든 / Nói gì thì nói
“ともかく (tomokaku)” means “Apart from / Aside from / More importantly” and which has been used as the meaning of “except for or not considering”. The basic way to use it is “AはともかくBだ。(Apart from A, B.)”, etc. For instance, “猫はともかく動物は好きだ。(Apart from cats, I like animals.)”, etc. The tips for using it are that “ともかく” ISN’T USED as the meaning of “HURRY”, unlike “とにかく”. Again it is normally used as the meaning of “except for or not considering”. But why do Japanese learners got confused about the way to use these “とにかく” and “ともかく”? Because native speakers sometimes omit “Aは” of “AはともかくBだ。” and that would be “ともかくBだ。”. So it sounds really similar to “とにかくBだ。” which sounds definitely “MUCH HURRY” than “ともかくBだ。”. “とにかくBだ。” means “I don’t care everything and do/choose B”, whereas “ともかくBだ。” means “Although there are various ways to do that, I do/choose B.” That’s what their subtle differences are. Everybody could use “ともかく” in daily conversations as casual and in business situations as formal such as “猫はともかく動物は好きだよ。(Apart from cats, I like animals.) as casual and “猫はともかく動物は好きです。(Apart from cats, I like animals.) as formal and which is also used as polite.
Sample
yuka猫はともかく動物は好きだよ。 (Apart from cats, I like animals.) (除了猫以外，总之我喜欢动物。) (고양이라면 몰라도, 동물은 좋아해.) (Chưa cần nói đến con mèo hay con gì, chỉ cần là động vật thôi là tớ đã thích rồi.) (neko watomokaku dōbutsu wa sukida yo.)
tatsuya冗談はともかく、これ預かってくれない？ (Joking aside, can you hold on to this?) (不开玩笑了，总之你能帮我保管这个吗？) (농담은 어쨌든, 이거 맡아주지 않을래?) (Đùa gì thì đùa, nhưng mà cậu có thể giữ cái này giúp tôi không?) (jōdan watomokaku, kore azukatte kurenai?)
yukaそれはともかく、明日は誕生日だね！ (More importantly, it’s your birthday tomorrow!) (不管怎样，明天是我的生日！) (그건 어쨌든, 내일은 생일이네!) (Khoan hãy nói tới việc đó, ngày mai là sinh nhật cậu rồi nhỉ!) (sore watomokaku, ashita wa tanjōbida ne!)
tatsuyaそれはともかく、誰が責任を取るの？ (Aside from that, who’s going to take responsibility for this?) (总之，谁来负责？) (그건 어쨋든, 누가 책임을 지는 거야?) (Cái đó tạm thời chưa tính đến, cái quan trọng là ai sẽ chịu trách nhiệm đây?) (sore wa tomokaku, dare ga sekinin wo toru no?)
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