Definition

1. Noun:
   • A scheme or plan: A carefully thought-out, and often clever or secret, method for achieving a specific goal or dealing with a situation.
   • A stratagem or device: A trick or maneuver, especially one used in politics, war, or competition to gain an advantage over an opponent.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Hắn ta có nhiều mưu kế thâm độc. (He has many sinister schemes.)
  • Nhờ mưu kế tài tình, quân ta đã chiến thắng. (Thanks to a brilliant stratagem, our army was victorious.)
  • Đó chỉ là một mưu kế để lừa gạt mọi người. (That is just a device to deceive people.)

Advanced Usage

• The term often carries a slightly negative or cunning connotation, implying cleverness that may border on deceit. It is frequently used in contexts of strategy, conflict, and intrigue.

Variants and Related Words

• Mưu đồ (n): A plot or design, often with ambitious or sinister aims.

  • Mưu đồ thôn tính lãnh thổ đã bị phát hiện. (The plot to annex territory was discovered.)

• Kế hoạch (n): A plan. This is a more neutral and general term without the cunning implication of "mưu kế."

  • Chúng tôi đang lập kế hoạch cho dự án mới. (We are making a plan for the new project.)

Synonyms

• Scheme: A large-scale, systematic plan or arrangement, often secret and cunning.
• Stratagem: A clever scheme or trick, especially in military or political contexts.
• Device: A plan or method, often a clever trick, used to achieve an end.
• Ruse: An action intended to deceive someone; a trick.

Related Idioms

• Mưu kế như thần: To have divine or extraordinarily clever stratagems.

  • Vị tướng ấy mưu kế như thần. (That general has divinely clever stratagems.)

• Bày mưu tính kế: To plot and scheme; to devise plans (often intricate or cunning ones).

  • Họ ngồi lại bày mưu tính kế hạ đối thủ. (They sat down to plot and scheme to bring down their rival.)

1. Scheme, device