JLPT N1: ～ようが (doesn't matter; no matter)

～ようが is basically a fancy way of saying ～ても in a sentence carrying the meaning of "(it) doesn't matter (if / who / what / etc.)."

Examples are the best teachers:

誰に何と言われようが、私は彼と結婚します。
だれ　に　なんと　いわれようが、　わたし　は　かれ　と　けっこん　します。
It doesn’t matter what anyone says to me, I’m going to marry him.
Literally: “who + に + doesn’t matter what I am told, + I + は + he + と + marriage + do.”

言う（いう // to say）
↓　↓
言われる（いわれる // to be told）
↓　↓
言われよう（いわれよう // let's be told* [←people don't say this!]）
↓　↓
言われようが（いわれようが // doesn't matter [if / what / by whom / etc.] am told）

I am tempted to say that we put the volitional form (V よう) in front of が for this grammar construction, but that's not really true.

For example, you'll see that we can use i-adjectives with this almost-volitional form coming before が：

梨花さんはどんなに暑かろうが、絶対に冷たい飲み物を飲まない。
りかさん　は　どんなに　あつかろうが、　ぜったいに　つめたい　のみもの　を　のまない。
No matter how hot it is, Rika-san absolutely will not drink anything cold.
Literally: “Rika-san + は + doesn’t matter how hot it is, + absolutely (not) + cold + drink + を + won’t drink.”

↑ You'll see what's going on here in the construction section. Before that, let's talk about ～ようが and ～ても...

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I hinted at this above, but we could use ～ても for both of the examples we've seen so far, and the meaning would be more or less the same:

誰に何と言われても、私は彼と結婚します。
だれ　に　なんと　いわれても、　わたし　は　かれ　と　けっこん　します。
It doesn’t matter what anyone says to me, I’m going to marry him.
Literally: “who + に + doesn’t matter what I am told (=what + と + even if [I] am told), + I + は + he + と + marriage + do.”

梨花さんはどんなに暑かくても、絶対に冷たい飲み物を飲まない。
りかさん　は　どんなに　あつくても、　ぜったいに　つめたい　のみもの　を　のまない。
No matter how hot it is, Rika-san absolutely will not drink anything cold.
Literally: “Rika-san + は + doesn’t matter how hot it is (=how much + even if [she] is hot), + absolutely (not) + cold + drink + を + won’t drink.”

So what's the difference between ～ても and ～ようが, then?

Well, they're both common, but ～ようが sounds stronger than ～ても.

Speaking of ～ても, you should probably review these lessons, which are somewhat similar to this one:
- [NDL #526] - JLPT N4: ～ても (even if)
- [NDL #408] - JLPT N3: たとえ～ても
- [NDL #367] - JLPT N2: にしても ([hypothetical] even if)

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👷 Construction 👷

There are three patterns that you'll see ～ようが in:

V よう ＋ が
i-adjective いかろう ＋ が
na-adjective / NOUN ＋ だろう ＋ が

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A couple more examples:

彼が何をしようが、彼の自由です。
かれ　が　なに　を　しようが、　かれ　の　じゆう　です。
He’s free to do whatever he wants.
Literally: “he + が + doesn’t matter what he does, + he + の + freedom + です.”

たとえその噂が本当だろうが、僕は気にしません。
たとえ　その　うわさ　が　ほんとう　だろうが、　ぼく　は　きにしません。
Even if that rumor were true, I wouldn’t care.
Literally: “supposing / even if + that + rumor + が + true + doesn’t matter if it is, + I + は + don’t care.”

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Last but not least, we have an idiom:

雨が降ろうが槍が降ろうが、必ず会いに行くぞ。
あめ　が　ふろうが　やり　が　ふろうが、　かならず　あい　に　いく　ぞ。
Come hell or high water, I will go see her.
Literally: “it doesn’t matter if spears or rain fall from the sky, + absolutely + go to see (=see + に + go) + ぞ.”

Cool phrase, yeah? I just so happened to have this idiom in my Anki flashcard deck:

槍が降っても僕はそこに行く。
やり　が　ふっても　ぼく　は　そこ　に　いく。
Come hell or high water, I'm going there. // Come what may, I will go there. // No matter what happens, I am going there.
Literally: “spears + が + even if (they) fall + I + は + there + に + go.”

...but I can't remember where I encountered it. These days my new flashcards rarely have notes, or even English. *_*

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Let's add a bonus sentence, just for fun:

誰に何と言われようが、日本語を身につける！
だれ　に　なんと　いわれようが、　にほんご　を　みにつける！
It doesn’t matter what anyone says to me, I’m going to learn Japanese!
Literally: “who + に + doesn’t matter what I am told, + Japanese (language) + を + learn (=body + に + affix)!”