“〜wo nuki ni shite(wa)”: Setting 〜 Aside / Without 〜 (an advanced expression) [JLPT N2]

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

「難しい話をぬきにして」 — set a factor aside; with は ＋ negative, “without 〜, can't…” (indispensable).

「冗談はぬきにして、本題に入ろう」 — set something aside, put it off to one side

To set the jokes aside and get down to business, 「冗談はぬきにして、そろそろ本題に入ろう」 (joking aside, let's get to the main topic) — 「〜をぬきにして(は)」 = setting ～ aside, leaving ～ out／without ～ (it can't be done), used to “temporarily exclude, set aside some element, topic, or formality,” or conversely to stress “without it, it can't be pulled off.” This guide covers its two uses and separates it from the earlier 「〜は抜きで (leave out some concrete thing),」 cross-referencing it.

Core: ‘pull something out, set it aside,' or conversely ‘without it, it won't work'

「noun ＋ をぬきにして」 has two core uses:

① setting ～ aside, excluding／shelving ～:

• 堅苦しい挨拶はぬきにして、乾杯しましょう (formalities aside, let's toast).
• 細かい点はぬきにして、大枠で考えよう (setting details aside, let's think big-picture).

② 〜をぬきにしては〜ない (without ～, it can't…):

• 彼の協力をぬきにしては、成功はあり得なかった (without his help, success would have been impossible).

Feel: 「ぬく (抜く)」 is “to pull out, remove,” so 「をぬきにして」 is “pull something out, set it aside.” Use ① is “(temporarily) not counting it in, setting it aside” (冗談・挨拶・細かい点); use ② takes a negative 「をぬきにしては〜ない,」 conversely stressing “pull it out and it can't be done → it's indispensable.” It corresponds to “setting ～ aside, leaving ～ out, without ～ (it can't).”

Attachment & forms

See it in context

• 建前はぬきにして、本音で話そう。(Pretenses aside, let's speak our true minds.)
• 損得をぬきにして、彼を助けたい。(Setting gain and loss aside, I want to help him.)
• 地元の人々の支援をぬきにしては、この祭りは語れない。(Without the locals' support, this festival can't be spoken of.)
• 過去の経緯をぬきにしては、この対立は理解できない。(Without counting in the past history, this conflict can't be understood.)
• 前置きはぬきにして、結論から言います。(Preamble aside, I'll start from the conclusion.)

⚠️ Common mistakes to avoid

① Two uses: ‘setting … aside' and ‘をぬきにしては〜ない (without …, it won't).' Learners often remember only half of 「〜をぬきにして.」 Use 1: setting ～ aside, excluding, shelving — temporarily “pulling out, not counting in” some element／topic／formality: 世辞はぬきにして、正直に評価する (flattery aside, evaluate honestly). Use 2: 〜をぬきにしては〜ない — takes a negative, conversely stressing “pull it out and it can't be done,” i.e. “it's indispensable”: 住民の理解をぬきにしては、計画は進められない (without residents' understanding, the plan can't proceed). Test: to “set some element aside, shelve it” → use 1; to stress “without some element, it won't work” (a negative follows) → use 2 (をぬきにしては〜ない). These two, one positive and one negative, both revolve around “pulling something out.”

② Precedes a noun; use 2 is fixed with a negative. Get the attachment right. What precedes is a noun (冗談・損得・彼の協力). Use 2 is always the frame “をぬきにして ＋ は ＋ negative／語れない／あり得ない” — the 「は」 can't be dropped, and a negative or “can't ～” must follow: 協力をぬきにしては成功しない (○). To modify a noun use the attributive 「をぬきにした」 (損得をぬきにした関係). Mnemonic: set aside → をぬきにして; without it, not → をぬきにしては〜ない.

③ Division of labor with 「〜は抜きで (leave out some concrete thing).」 These two are same-root (both from 「抜く = remove」), but differ in what they apply to and in feel. 「〜をぬきにして(は)」 = set aside (some element／topic) or ‘without …, not': it leans abstract — what's excluded is a topic, element, formality, interest (冗談・損得・経緯): 建前をぬきにして話す (talk with pretenses aside). 「noun ＋ は抜きで／抜きに」 = leave out, omit (some concrete thing): it leans concrete — what's removed is an actual thing (a topping, a meal, a fee): わさび抜きで (without wasabi), 朝食抜きで出かける (go out without breakfast) (see 〈抜きで〉). Difference: 「をぬきにして」 sets aside an abstract topic／element (＋ can take a negative for “without …, not”); 「は抜きで」 leaves out a concrete thing. Test: what's excluded is a “topic, element, interest” → をぬきにして; what's left out is a “concrete thing, meal, fee” → は抜きで (see 〈抜きで〉).

🔄 Compare with similar forms: をぬきにして／は抜きで／をのぞいて／なしに

💡 Quick takeaway

「〜をぬきにして(は)」 = setting ～ aside／without ～ (it can't) — three points: ① two uses — “set some element aside, shelve it” (冗談はぬきにして) and “をぬきにしては〜ない (without …, not — conversely stressing indispensability)”; ② precedes a noun, use 2 fixed with a negative (をぬきにしては〜ない); ③ division of labor with 「は抜きで (leave out a concrete thing, see 〈抜きで〉).」 — をぬきにして sets aside an abstract topic／element, は抜きで leaves out a concrete thing. This pattern is handy in both conversation and formal settings — 「冗談はぬきにして (joking aside),」 「建前をぬきにして (pretenses aside)」 are crisp openers to get to the point; and 「〜をぬきにしては語れない (can't be spoken of without ～)」 is an elegant way to stress that something is indispensable. To brush aside the side branches and go straight to the point, this is the smoothest line.

❓ FAQ

Q: What does 「彼の努力をぬきにしては成功はなかった」 mean? Why the negative?

This is 「をぬきにして」's second use: 〜をぬきにしては〜ない = without ～, it can't／there's no…, which must pair with a negative, using the “reverse” to stress that something is indispensable. Literally “pull ～ out, and it wouldn't work,” extended to “precisely because of ～, it … (so ～ is indispensable)”: 彼の努力をぬきにしては、成功はなかった (pull out his effort, and there'd have been no success → precisely his effort brought success), 地元の協力をぬきにしては、この事業は成り立たない (without the local cooperation, this venture doesn't hold up). Why the negative? — because it's the logic “suppose you pull some element out → then it can't be done,” so a negative naturally follows (〜ない・語れない・あり得ない・成り立たない). This is the same 「ぬきにして (pull out)」 as use 1 “set aside,” only: use 1 is “(actually) setting it aside, not counting it in” (冗談はぬきにして本題へ); use 2 「をぬきにしては〜ない」 is “(hypothetically) pull it out and it won't work,” using the reverse to highlight its importance. Test: a negative follows (〜ない・語れない) → the “without …, not” emphatic use; “get to the main topic／do something” follows → the “set aside” use. So seeing 「をぬきにしては」 with a negative after, read it as “precisely because of ～ (without it, it won't work).”

Q: 「をぬきにして」 and 「は抜きで」 both come from 「抜く」 — are they interchangeable?

Mostly not, because they apply to different things. Though same-root (「抜く = pull out, remove」), one leans abstract, the other concrete. 「〜をぬきにして(は)」 = set aside (an abstract topic, element, formality, interest), or ‘without …, not': what it excludes is usually abstract — 冗談, 建前, 世辞, 損得, 細かい点, 過去の経緯: 損得をぬきにして協力する (help with gain-and-loss aside — 「損得」 is an abstract consideration). 「noun ＋ は抜きで／抜きに」 = leave out, omit (a concrete thing): what it removes is usually concrete — a topping, a meal, a fee, a concrete procedural item: わさび抜きで (without wasabi — a concrete topping), 税抜きで1000円 (1000 yen before tax — a concrete tax), 朝食抜きで (without breakfast — a concrete meal) (see 〈抜きで〉). Difference: 「をぬきにして」 sets aside an abstract topic／element (＋ can take a negative for “without …, not”); 「は抜きで」 leaves out a concrete thing／meal／fee. Test: what's to be excluded is an abstract element like “topic, formality, interest, background” → をぬきにして; what's to be removed is a concrete thing like “wasabi, tax, breakfast” → は抜きで. E.g. 「冗談はぬきにして (joking aside — the abstract ‘joke' as a topic is set aside)」 uses をぬきにして; 「ネギ抜きで (without green onion — the concrete ‘green onion' is removed)」 uses は抜きで. Abstract element → をぬきにして, concrete thing → は抜きで (for more of 「抜き」's basic uses see 〈抜きで〉).

🖊️ Practice Questions (5)

Q1. 「彼の努力___、この記録は生まれなかっただろう。」(Leaving his effort aside, this record would never have been set)

(A) をぬきにしては　(B) にかかわらず　(C) 抜きで　(D) によらず

Q2. 「難しい話___、今夜は映画でも見よう。」(Setting the difficult talk aside for now, let's watch a movie tonight)

(A) をぬきにしては　(B) をぬきにして　(C) にかかわらず　(D) 抜きに

Q3. 「チームワーク___、このプロジェクトの成功は語れない。」(Leaving teamwork aside, one cannot speak of this project's success)

(A) をぬきにしては　(B) にかかわらず　(C) 抜きで　(D) なしに

Q4. 「をぬきにしては」の後に最も自然な表現は？

(A) だから・なので（理由）

(B) 語れない・考えられない・あり得ない（否定：不可能〜）

(C) から・て（原因・継続）

(D) のに・けれど（逆接）

Q5. 「先生のサポート___は、合格できなかったと思います。」(Leaving the teacher's support aside, I don't think I could have passed)

(A) をぬきにして　(B) をぬきにして は　(C) にかかわらず　(D) 抜きで

Answer Explanations

1. (A) をぬきにしては ── 「彼の努力をぬきにしては」(leaving his effort aside), 「生まれなかっただろう」(it would not have come about — negative form) = をぬきにしては + negative = emphasizing necessity.

2. (B) をぬきにして ── 「難しい話をぬきにして」(setting the difficult talk aside), 「映画でも見よう」(a light follow-up clause) = をぬきにして (not followed by a negative; means "leaving that out, let's do something else").

3. (A) をぬきにしては ── 「チームワークをぬきにしては」(leaving teamwork aside), 「成功は語れない」(cannot speak of success) = をぬきにしては + 語れない = emphasizing indispensability.

4. (B) ── をぬきにしては is followed by a negative (語れない・考えられない・あり得ない), expressing the necessity of "without 〜, one cannot 〜."

5. (B) をぬきにして は ── 「先生のサポートをぬきにしては」(leaving the teacher's support aside), 「合格できなかった」(could not have passed) = をぬきにしては + negative.