Definition

1. Noun:
   • A trick or clever scheme: A cunning plan or method devised to achieve a specific goal, often involving deception or ingenuity.
   • A stratagem or device: A carefully planned maneuver, especially in a conflict or competitive situation, designed to gain an advantage.
   • An expedient: A practical and often clever solution to a difficult problem, though it may be a temporary or makeshift one.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Hắn ta dùng mưu chước để chiếm đoạt tài sản. (He used a trick to seize the property.)
  • Trong chiến tranh, mưu chước quan trọng không kém vũ khí. (In war, stratagems are as important as weapons.)
  • Đó chỉ là một mưu chước tạm thời để giải quyết khủng hoảng. (That is merely an expedient to resolve the crisis.)

Advanced Usage

• The word "mưu chước" often carries a slightly negative or cunning connotation, implying cleverness that borders on deceit. It is frequently used in contexts of politics, war, business, or personal rivalry.

Variants and Related Words

• Mưu (n): A plan, scheme, or plot. Often used in compounds.

  • mưu đồ (scheme, plot)
  • âm mưu (conspiracy)

• Kế (n): A stratagem, plan, or trick. Commonly paired with mưu.

  • mưu kế (schemes and stratagems)

• Chước (n, archaic): A trick, ruse, or device. Rarely used alone in modern Vietnamese.

Synonyms

• Stratagem: A clever scheme for gaining an end.
• Ruse: A trick or action intended to deceive someone.
• Expedient: A means of attaining an end, especially one that is convenient but possibly improper or immoral.
• Device: A plan or method for achieving something.

Related Idioms

• Mưu chước quỷ quyệt: Devilishly cunning tricks.

  • Tên tội phạm dùng những mưu chước quỷ quyệt để thoát khỏi pháp luật. (The criminal used devilishly cunning tricks to escape the law.)

• Bày mưu tính chước: To devise schemes and calculate tricks; to plot and plan.

  • Họ ngồi lại bày mưu tính chước để hạ gục đối thủ. (They sat together devising schemes to defeat their rival.)

1. Trick, device, expedient