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to leave open
To deliberately leave a question or matter open, undecided, or unanswered because it is not important or cannot be clarified.
Ob er es absichtlich getan hat oder nicht, sei einmal dahingestellt – der Schaden ist da.
Whether he did it deliberately or not, let's leave that open for now—the damage is done.
The word consists of 'dahin' (there/to that place) and 'gestellt' (past participle of 'stellen' (to put/place)). The figurative idea is that you 'put' a question or problem 'there' and do not pay further attention to it for the time being.
Wir lassen diese Detailfrage erst einmal dahingestellt und konzentrieren uns auf das Hauptproblem.
Let's leave this detail question open for now and concentrate on the main problem.
This word is used almost only in two fixed constructions: 'Es sei dahingestellt, ob/wie/warum ...' (it remains open whether/how/why ...) or 'etwas dahingestellt sein lassen' (to leave something open). It is not used like a normal adjective before a noun.
Es sei dahingestellt, ob diese Entscheidung richtig war.
It remains open whether this decision was right.
The expression 'dahingestellt sein lassen' (to leave open) belongs to formal written language. It is often found in academic, legal, or official texts, but rarely in everyday speech.
In der Untersuchung soll dahingestellt bleiben, welche persönlichen Motive die Person hatte.
The investigation should leave open what personal motives the person had.
open
'offen' and 'dahingestellt' can both express that something has not been decided or clarified. 'offen' is neutral and very common: a question, an appointment, or an outcome can be open. 'dahingestellt' is usually used in the fixed expression 'dahingestellt sein lassen' (to leave open). In that case, you deliberately leave a question unresolved, often because it is not important at the moment or cannot be answered with certainty. The risk of confusion lies in the fact that both show uncertainty. 'offen' describes the state; 'dahingestellt' emphasizes that you are deliberately not pursuing clarification further.
Ob seine Erklärung wirklich stimmt, lassen wir heute dahingestellt.
Whether his explanation is really true, we will leave open today.
Der genaue Termin für die Reise ist noch offen.
The exact date for the trip is still open.