When to use 「とにかく」 and when to use 「とりあえず」?


This is a variant of the top definition question @ Area51:
<http://area51.stackexchange.com/proposals/7526/japanese-language-
usage/7529#7529>

When to use 「とにかく」 and when to use 「とりあえず」? I have heard both adverbs used in
similar sentences so I'm wondering whether they can be used interchangeably.
Or is there a difference in nuance between the two?:

> とにかく、行きましょう。
>
> とりあえず、行きましょう。




**とにかく** is usually translated 'anyway', and just like 'anyway' in English,
it's used to change the subject of the conversation.

**とりあえず** has a more specific meaning. It's often translated as 'for the time
being', which is quite an accurate (if cumbersome) translation, since it's
used only in cases where you want to tell the listener that you want to leave
the issue at hand to later and move to something else.

For instance, if you were talking with your friend about a letter you have to
take to the post office, but then he told you that the post office is closed
now, you can tell him "とりあえず、帰りましょう", meaning "Ok, we can't do anything with
that for now, so let's leave it for later. For the time being, let's go home."

Also, many cases where とりあえず is being used cannot be counted as 'change of
subject' at all, and there difference from とにかく is even more striking.

For instance, I guess you could say:

> とりあえず、前の宛先に送ってもいいです

meaning: "For the time being (until I get a new mail address), you can send
stuff to my old mail address)."




**とにかく** is usually translated 'anyway', and just like 'anyway' in English,
it's used to change the subject of the conversation.

**とりあえず** has a more specific meaning. It's often translated as 'for the time
being', which is quite an accurate (if cumbersome) translation, since it's
used only in cases where you want to tell the listener that you want to leave
the issue at hand to later and move to something else.

For instance, if you were talking with your friend about a letter you have to
take to the post office, but then he told you that the post office is closed
now, you can tell him "とりあえず、帰りましょう", meaning "Ok, we can't do anything with
that for now, so let's leave it for later. For the time being, let's go home."

Also, many cases where とりあえず is being used cannot be counted as 'change of
subject' at all, and there difference from とにかく is even more striking.

For instance, I guess you could say:

> とりあえず、前の宛先に送ってもいいです

meaning: "For the time being (until I get a new mail address), you can send
stuff to my old mail address)."

