如何【いかん】

如何いかん is a formal noun meaning "how something turns out" or "what something is like". It follows a noun, usually with の, and lives inside a handful of fixed phrases that mean "depending on" or "regardless of". It is also written in kana, いかん.

Depending on

With による, によって or では, the outcome turns on the noun before 如何. Adding は – 如何によっては, 如何では – picks out one possible outcome among several.

Regardless of

With a negative – にかかわらず, をとわ問わず – the meaning flips: whatever the noun turns out to be, the rest holds. Read the ending before deciding which way the sentence goes.

Usage notes

These go beyond "depending on" and "regardless of".

如何ともしがたい

どうともしがたい如何ともしがたい is a set phrase: "nothing can be done about it". It closes a statement about a situation beyond anyone's control.

如何 read いかが

Standing alone before です, 如何 is read いかが, not いかん. ごきげんご機嫌いかが如何ですか is "how are you?" in a formal letter.

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如何 belongs to legal text, official notices, contracts and the news. In speech, "depending on" is しだい次第 or によって, and "regardless of" is にかんけいなく関係なく.