“〜wo oshite・wo oshite mo”: Despite / Braving 〜 (pushing through obstacles) [JLPT N1]

Content by NTJ Kuma · Nihongo to Japan editorial team · Updated July 27, 2026

Doing something while ignoring an obstacle

「病を押して舞台に立つ」 — taking the stage in defiance of illness

Though there's an obstacle, a resistance, one does it anyway by sheer will — 「彼は高熱を押して、大事な試合に出場した (he competed in the important match despite a high fever).」 「〜を押して／〜を押しても」 = in defiance of ～, overcoming ～ (an obstacle, opposition, illness). It stresses the resolve of “pushing against the resistance, doing it by will.” This guide clarifies its core of “doing it despite an obstacle,” the obstacle-type nouns it takes, separating it from 「にもかかわらず」「をものともせず.」

Core: in defiance of ～ (an obstacle, opposition, illness), doing it by sheer will

「noun ＋ を押して（を押しても）」 means “in defiance of ～, overcoming ～ (some obstacle, difficulty, opposition), doing something by sheer will” — the preceding noun is mostly a resistance like illness, opposition, difficulty, harsh conditions:

• 周囲の反対を押して、二人は結婚した (in defiance of those around them, the two married).
• 病を押して、彼は最後まで職務を全うした (in defiance of illness, he fulfilled his duty to the end).
• 悪天候を押して、登山隊は出発した (in defiance of the foul weather, the climbing party set out).

Feel: the core is “pushing against／through some resistance (an obstacle, opposition, illness), by will, resolve, doing something anyway” — it stresses the strong will to overcome resistance. 「押す」 = push, press, and 「を押して」 literally is “pushing through (that obstacle)” = in defiance of ～. It mostly takes concrete resistances like illness／opposition／difficulty／rain (harsh conditions). In English: “in defiance of ～, against ～, overcoming ～, braving ～.”

Forms & attachment

Example sentences

• 医者の制止を押して、彼女は仕事に復帰した。(In defiance of the doctor's advice, she returned to work.)
• 家族の心配を押して、彼は単身赴任を決めた。(In defiance of his family's worry, he decided on a solo posting.)
• 世間の批判を押して、監督はその決断を貫いた。(In defiance of public criticism, the director stuck to that decision.)
• 痛む足を押して、彼はゴールまで走り抜いた。(In defiance of his aching leg, he ran through to the finish.)
• 多少の無理を押しても、締め切りには間に合わせる。(Even pushing a bit hard, I'll make the deadline.)

⚠️ Common mistakes to avoid

① The core is ‘doing it by will in defiance of some resistance,' mostly taking obstacles like illness／opposition／difficulty. This is 「を押して」's core feel. It means “pushing against, through some concrete resistance (an obstacle, difficulty, opposition), by will, resolve, doing something anyway” — stressing the strong will to overcome resistance. The preceding noun is mostly a concrete resistance: 病 (illness), 高熱 (high fever), 反対 (opposition), 困難 (difficulty), 悪天候 (foul weather), 制止 (dissuasion), 痛み (pain): 病を押して出場する (compete in defiance of illness), 反対を押して強行する (force it through in defiance of opposition). Test: to say “in defiance of ～ (some obstacle／difficulty／opposition), doing ～ by will” → を押して.

② 「押す」 = push, press (through the obstacle); 「を押して」 literally is ‘pushing through (the resistance).' In attachment, 「押す（おす）」's base sense is “push, press,” and 「〜を押して」 literally is “pushing through (that obstacle), shoving (the resistance) aside,” extended to “in defiance of ～, overcoming ～.” So 「反対を押して」 = “shoving opposition (aside／through)” = “in defiance of opposition,” 「病を押して」 = “pushing through illness” = “in defiance of illness.” It carries the force of “pushing through resistance by will.” Test: 「を押して」 = pushing through the resistance = in defiance of ～ (overcoming an obstacle by will).

③ Separate it from 「にもかかわらず」 — を押して stresses ‘defying an obstacle, doing it by will,' にもかかわらず is ‘despite ～ (an unexpected result).' Both express “despite ～,” but differ in feel. 「〜を押して」 = in defiance of ～ (an obstacle), doing it by will (stressing ‘overcoming the resistance by will,' active): 反対を押して結婚した (married in defiance of opposition — stressing “overcoming the resistance of opposition by will, actively doing it”). It precedes a resistance noun, stressing the actor's will to overcome resistance. 「〜にもかかわらず」 = despite ～, yet… (an adversative where the result contradicts expectation, see 〈にもかかわらず〉): 雨にもかかわらず、試合は行われた (despite the rain, the match was held — the unexpected adversative “despite the rain (which should mean cancellation), yet it was held”). It's an adversative, stressing “despite A (which should ～), yet B (the opposite),” not specially stressing the “actor's will.” Difference: 「を押して」 = in defiance of ～ (resistance), doing it by will (actively overcoming, preceding a resistance noun); 「にもかかわらず」 = despite ～, yet (an adversative, result unexpected, see 〈にもかかわらず〉). Test: to stress “in defiance of ～ (an obstacle), doing it by will” → を押して; to say “despite ～, yet… (result contradicting expectation)” → にもかかわらず.

④ Separate it from 「をものともせず」 — を押して = doing it in defiance of (resistance), をものともせず = not treating ～ as anything, fearlessly. Both express “disregarding difficulty,” but differ slightly in feel. 「〜を押して」 = in defiance of ～ (an obstacle), doing it (pushing against the resistance, overcoming it by will): 病を押して (in defiance of illness). It stresses “pushing against the resistance, overcoming it,” with a sense of “effortful, straining” will. 「〜をものともせず」 = not treating ～ as anything, fearlessly ～ (see 〈をものともせず〉): 困難をものともせず、突き進んだ (pressed on, not treating difficulty as anything — the spirit of fearlessly, easily surmounting). It stresses “not putting ～ in one's eye at all, fearlessly,” with a bold, valiant spirit. Difference: 「を押して」 = pushing against resistance, doing it by will (effortfully overcoming); 「をものともせず」 = not treating ～ as anything, fearlessly (valiantly surmounting, see 〈をものともせず〉). Test: to say “in defiance of ～ (an obstacle), doing it (effortfully) by will” → を押して; to say “not treating ～ as anything, fearlessly ～” (valiant) → をものともせず.

🔄 Compare: を押して／にもかかわらず／をものともせず／を顧みず

💡 Learning tip

「〜を押して／〜を押しても」 = in defiance of ～, overcoming ～ (an obstacle, opposition, illness) — three points: ① the core is ‘pushing against／through some resistance, doing it by will' — mostly with concrete obstacles like illness／opposition／difficulty／harsh conditions (病を押して出場 = compete in defiance of illness); ②「押す」 = push, press through (the resistance), literally “shoving the obstacle aside”; ③ separate it from 「にもかかわらず (adversative, despite-yet, see 〈にもかかわらず〉)」「をものともせず (not treating ～ as anything, fearlessly, see 〈をものともせず〉)」. This expression well portrays strong will, resolve — 「病を押して」「反対を押して」 render, movingly, that unbending resolve of “though there's resistance, doing it anyway by will.” To stress “in defiance of an obstacle, doing it by will,” 「を押して」 is spot-on.

❓ Common questions

Q: What's the difference between 「反対を押して」 and 「反対にもかかわらず」?

The difference is ‘stressing the actor's will to overcome resistance' vs ‘a plain adversative (despite ～, yet).' 「〜を押して」 = in defiance of ～ (resistance), doing it (stressing ‘the actor overcoming the resistance by will, actively doing it'): 「反対を押して」 = “in defiance of opposition (shoving opposition aside, pushing through), doing it anyway (by will)” — its point is “the actor's strong will, resolve to overcome the resistance of opposition,” with an active, effortful force: 家族の反対を押して、彼は夢を追った (in defiance of his family's opposition, he chased his dream — stressing his will to overcome opposition). It precedes a resistance noun, highlighting the actor's will. 「〜にもかかわらず」 = despite ～, yet… (an adversative, stressing the result contradicting expectation, see 〈にもかかわらず〉): 「反対にもかかわらず」 = “despite opposition (which should mean giving up), yet…” — it's an adversative, its point being “despite A (which should ～), the result yet B (the opposite, unexpected),” more objectively stating “despite opposition, the thing (turned out somehow),” not specially stressing the “actor's will to overcome resistance”: 多くの反対にもかかわらず、計画は実行された (despite much opposition, the plan was carried out — objectively stating the adversative result). Difference: 「を押して」 = in defiance of ～ (resistance), doing it by will (stressing the actor's active will to overcome resistance); 「にもかかわらず」 = despite ～, yet (an objective adversative, result contradicting expectation, see 〈にもかかわらず〉). Test: to stress “(someone) in defiance of ～ (an obstacle), doing it by will” (active, resolute) → を押して; to objectively say “despite ～, yet… (unexpected result)” → にもかかわらず. So “he chased his dream in defiance of opposition” (stressing will) uses 「反対を押して,」 “despite opposition the plan was carried out” (objective adversative) uses 「反対にもかかわらず.」

Q: What nouns can precede 「を押して」?

「を押して」 precedes a noun, mostly of the “resistance, obstacle, difficulty, opposition” kind — because its meaning is “doing something anyway in defiance of (pushing against, through) some resistance,” it naturally takes that “resistance”: ① illness type: 病 (illness), 高熱 (high fever), けが (injury), 痛み (pain), 体調不良 (poor health) — 病を押して出場する (compete in defiance of illness). ② opposition／stopping type: 反対 (opposition), 制止 (dissuasion), 非難 (censure), 周囲の心配 (others' worry) — 反対を押して結婚する (marry in defiance of opposition). ③ difficulty／harsh conditions type: 困難 (difficulty), 悪天候 (foul weather), 荒天 (storm), 危険 (danger) — 悪天候を押して出発する (set out in defiance of foul weather). ④ strain type: 無理 (strain), 多忙 (busyness) — 多少の無理を押しても (even pushing a bit hard). The common thread: the preceding noun is “a resistance, obstacle to doing something,” and 「を押して」 means “in defiance of this resistance, doing it anyway by will.” Test: 「を押して」 precedes a resistance／obstacle-type noun (病／反対／困難／悪天候／無理); best for “doing ～ in defiance of ～ (a resistance).” ⚠️Note: it takes the “resistance,” not “the thing done” — 「病を押して出場」 is “in defiance of ‘illness' (the resistance), ‘competing' (the thing done),” don't reverse them.

🖊️ Practice Questions (5)

Q1. 「彼は周囲の制止___、現場に向かった。」(ignoring those trying to stop him)

(A) を押して　(B) をめぐって　(C) において　(D) にとって

Q2. 「を押して」の前に来るのは?

(A) Obstacles (病・反対・無理)

(B) Joy

(C) Time

(D) Color

Q3. 「病を押して出場した」の意味は?

(A) Competed despite illness (ignoring the condition)

(B) Withdrew due to illness

(C) Not sick

(D) Competed only after recovering

Q4. 「を押して」の語感は?

(A) Forcing ahead despite / braving difficulty

(B) Easygoing and pleasant

(C) A command

(D) A condition

Q5. 接法が正しいのは?

(A) 反対を押して結婚した。　(B) 反対が押して。

(C) 反対を押してのに。　(D) 反対だ押して。

Answer Explanations

1. (A) を押して ── Ignoring the attempts to stop him.

2. (A) ── Preceded by an obstacle (病・反対・無理).

3. (A) ── Competed despite illness, ignoring the condition.

4. (A) ── Forcing ahead despite / braving difficulty.

5. (A) ── 「反対を押して結婚した」is correct.