“wo yoso ni” Meaning & Usage — Ignoring / In Defiance of 〜 [JLPT N1]

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

“Ignoring everyone's objections, he pushed on” — disregarding something to do your own thing, with examples. (JLPT N1)

「周囲の反対をよそに」 — paying no heed to those around, going one's own way

Others are worrying over you, objecting, and yet you carry on with your own thing as if none of it concerned you — Japanese captures this “leaving it unheeded” precisely with 「をよそに.」 「周囲の反対をよそに、計画を進めた (heedless of those around, pushed the plan forward).」 「〜をよそに」 = ignoring ～, heedless of ～, leaving ～ unheeded (going one's own way). It often carries the speaker's disapproval; this guide also differentiates the same-batch, opposite-attitude 〈をものともせず〉 (bravely overcoming／praise), cross-referencing it.

Core: paying no heed to (others' feelings／opposition), going one's own way

「(noun) ＋ をよそに」 = ignoring ～, heedless of ～, leaving ～ unheeded, going one's own way:

• 親の心配をよそに、彼は一人で旅に出た (heedless of his parents' worry, he set off alone).
• 周囲の混乱をよそに、彼女は淡々と仕事を続けた (ignoring the chaos around her, she calmly kept working).
• 世間の批判をよそに、その企業は方針を変えなかった (heedless of public criticism, the company didn't change course).

Feel: 「よそ」 = “elsewhere, someone else's affair,” and 「をよそに」 = “treating ～ as someone else's affair, of no concern (leaving it unheeded).” It mostly attaches to “others' feelings, expectations, opposition, worry, the commotion around,” for someone “paying none of it any heed, carrying on with their own thing.” It often carries the speaker's disapproval, criticism (finding the person cold, willful, self-absorbed). It leans written. In English: ignoring ～, heedless of ～, leaving ～ unheeded. (The opposite-attitude 〈をものともせず〉 is “bravely overcoming (praise)” — see below.)

Attachment rules

See it in context

• 家族の期待をよそに、彼は家業を継がなかった。(Heedless of his family's expectations, he didn't take over the family business.)
• 高まる批判をよそに、政府は計画を強行した。(Ignoring rising criticism, the government forced the plan through.)
• 周りの心配をよそに、彼女はけろりとしていた。(Heedless of those around her, she was perfectly unbothered.)
• 市場の不安をよそに、株価は上昇を続けた。(Ignoring the market's unease, the stock kept rising.)
• 大人たちの気遣いをよそに、子どもたちは元気に走り回っていた。(Heedless of the adults' concern, the children ran about energetically.)

⚠️ Where learners slip up

① What precedes is mostly ‘others' feelings, opposition, worry, surrounding commotion,' often with the speaker's criticism. What 「をよそに」 attaches to is usually “others' feelings, expectations, opposition, worry, or surrounding commotion, unease” — 親の心配, 周囲の反対, 世間の批判, 市場の不安. It depicts someone “paying none of it any mind, carrying on with their own thing,” and often carries the speaker's disapproval, criticism (finding the person cold, willful, self-absorbed, detached). So it's not a neutral “ignore” but mostly carries a negative tint. Test: to depict “(someone) paying no heed to (those around's feelings／opposition), going their own way (with a touch of criticism)” → をよそに.

② Opposite in attitude to 「をものともせず」 — をよそに passively ignores (criticism), をものともせず actively overcomes (praise). Both can loosely translate as “ignoring ～,” but their praise／blame and attitude are exactly opposite (the same-batch 〈をものともせず〉 is the perfect contrast). 「をよそに」 is the passive, often critical “not heeding (others' feelings／opposition), staying detached, going one's own way”: 親の心配をよそに、遊び歩く (heedless of parents' worry, gadding about — criticizing the coldness). 「をものともせず」 is the active, praising “undaunted by (hardship／danger), bravely facing and overcoming it”: 困難をものともせず、挑戦した (undaunted by hardship, took on the challenge — praising the bravery, see 〈をものともせず〉). Difference: をよそに = passively ignoring, leaving unheeded (others' feelings, often criticism); をものともせず = actively overcoming, undaunted (hardship／danger, praise). Test: not heeding those around, going one's own way (criticism) → をよそに; bravely overcoming an obstacle (praise) → をものともせず.

③ The difference from 「も顧みず」 — target, flavor. Both carry “heedless of ～,” but the target and flavor differ. 「をよそに」 is “not heeding (others' feelings／opposition／surrounding commotion), going one's own way,” its target mostly “others' affairs, external voices,” often with criticism (coldness, self-absorption). 「も顧みず」 is “heedless of (one's own danger, family, exhaustion, etc.), doing it (selflessly),” its target mostly “what one ought to mind about oneself,” often with “at the cost of, sacrifice, selflessness”: 身の危険も顧みず、川に飛び込んだ (heedless of his own danger, dove into the river — selfless, with praise). Difference: をよそに = not heeding ‘others／the external' (often criticism); も顧みず = heedless of ‘what one ought to mind about oneself' (selfless, often praise). Test: not heeding those around's feelings, opposition → をよそに; heedless of one's own danger, family (self-sacrifice) → も顧みず.

④ It's a written expression; everyday speech uses 「無視して／気にせず.」 「をよそに」 leans written, common in reporting, commentary, narrative. Everyday speech uses it less — for “paying no heed to ～,” everyday uses 「〜を無視して」「〜を気にせず」「〜なんてお構いなしに.」 Test: to depict in writing “heedless of ～, going one's own way” → をよそに; for everyday speech → 「〜を無視して／気にせず.」

🔄 Nuance & comparison: をよそに／をものともせず／も顧みず／を無視して

💡 How to remember this

「〜をよそに」 is made for depicting “paying no heed to those around (their feelings／opposition／worry), carrying on with one's own thing,” and it often carries the speaker's disapproval, criticism — finding the person cold, willful, detached. 「親の心配をよそに遊び歩く」「批判をよそに強行する」 have a “you say what you like, I'll do as I please” flavor. The key distinction is that it's exactly opposite in attitude to the same-batch 〈をものともせず〉: をよそに = passively ignoring (criticism); をものともせず = actively overcoming (praise). What precedes is mostly “others' feelings, opposition, surrounding commotion.” It leans written; for everyday “paying no heed to ～,” 「〜を無視して／気にせず」 is more natural.

❓ Questions you might have

Q: 「をよそに」 and 「をものともせず」 both translate as “ignoring ～” — how to tell them apart?

Their praise／blame and attitude are exactly opposite — the key distinction (the two are perfect contrasts). 「をよそに」 = ignoring ～, heedless of ～, going one's own way (passive, often critical): the subject doesn't heed (others' feelings, opposition, worry), stays detached, carries on with their own thing, often with the speaker's disapproval, criticism (finding them cold, willful) — 「親の心配をよそに、彼は遊び歩いた」 = “heedless of his parents' worry, he gadded about” (criticizing his willfulness, coldness). What precedes is mostly “others' feelings, external voices.” 「をものともせず」 = undaunted by ～, bravely overcoming (active, praise): the subject actively, bravely faces hardship／danger and overcomes it, with admiration, praise — 「困難をものともせず、挑戦した」 = “undaunted by hardship, took on the challenge” (praising the courage, see 〈をものともせず〉). What precedes is mostly “hardship, danger, adversity.” In one line: 「をよそに」 is passively ignoring those around (often criticism); 「をものともせず」 is actively overcoming an obstacle (praise). Test: not heeding others' feelings, opposition, going one's own way (criticism) → をよそに; bravely facing and overcoming hardship, danger (praise) → をものともせず. So “heedless of parents' worry, went his own way” (criticism) uses をよそに, “undaunted by hardship, bravely took it on” (praise) uses をものともせず — opposite in praise／blame, never interchangeable.

Q: Does 「をよそに」 always carry a critical tone?

Mostly, but not absolutely. In most cases 「をよそに」 carries the speaker's disapproval, criticism — because it depicts “not heeding others' feelings／opposition／worry, carrying on with one's own thing,” and this “detached, do-as-I-please” attitude often strikes the speaker as cold, willful, inconsiderate: 親の心配をよそに、遊び歩く (heedless of parents' worry, gadding about — clearly critical), 批判をよそに、強行した (ignoring criticism, forced it through — with negative appraisal). But there are exceptions — when what precedes is “surrounding commotion, unease, chaos” and the subject stays calm, unruffled, the tone can be neutral, even slightly admiring, the point shifting to “undisturbed by the outside, perfectly composed”: 周囲の混乱をよそに、彼女は冷静に対処した (ignoring the chaos around her, she handled it calmly — here neutral／slightly admiring of the composure), 市場の不安をよそに、株価は上昇を続けた (ignoring the market's unease, the stock kept rising — a neutral, objective statement). Test: precedes “others' feelings／opposition” ＋ a do-as-I-please subject → mostly critical; precedes “surrounding commotion／unease” ＋ an unruffled subject → can be neutral or slightly admiring. So 「をよそに」's tone depends on what precedes and the subject's attitude — not heeding “others' goodwill, opposition” mostly carries criticism, being undisturbed by “outside commotion” can be neutral.

🖊️ Practice Questions (5)

Q1. 「周りの心配___、彼は一人で出発した。」(disregarding the worry of those around him, he set off alone)

(A) をよそに　(B) を踏まえて　(C) をもって　(D) について

Q2. 「親の期待___、息子は進学しなかった。」(disregarding his parents' expectations, the son did not go on to higher education)

(A) をよそに　(B) のおかげで　(C) によって　(D) に応じて

Q3. 「反対をよそに計画を進めた」の意味は?

(A) Ignoring the opposition, pushed the plan forward regardless

(B) Stopped the plan because of opposition

(C) Accepted the opposing opinions

(D) Unrelated to the opposition

Q4. 「をよそに」の語感として正しいのは?

(A) Disregarding/ignoring others (worry, opposition, etc.) and going one's own way

(B) Valuing others' opinions

(C) Indicating a reason

(D) Expressing gratitude

Q5. 「をよそに」の前に来やすい名詞は?

(A) 心配・反対・期待・批判　(B) 時間・場所　(C) 道具・手段　(D) 食べ物

Answer Explanations

1. (A) をよそに ── Disregarding those around him worrying, set off alone.

2. (A) をよそに ── Disregarding the parents' expectations.

3. (A) ── Ignoring the opposition, pushed on regardless.

4. (A) ── Disregarding/ignoring others and going one's own way.

5. (A) ── Often attaches to 心配・反対・期待・批判.