Translation guide
An action taken in a desperate situation, often as a last resort. In Japanese, this is commonly expressed with set phrases or descriptive patterns rather than a single word.
Expressing that an action is taken out of desperation, as a final option when nothing else works.
A common set phrase meaning 'a desperate measure' or 'a last resort born of desperation'. Literally 'a plan born of painful flesh', it implies a painful or difficult choice made when no good options remain.
The price cut was a desperate measure.
Literally 'last resort' or 'final means'. A straightforward way to say that something is the last possible action to take.
A descriptive phrase meaning 'a measure taken unavoidably'. It emphasizes that the action was forced by circumstances.
苦肉の策 emphasizes the painful, self-sacrificing nature of the measure, while 最後の手段 simply means 'last resort' without the nuance of suffering. Use 苦肉の策 when the action involves a difficult or unpleasant choice.
The price cut is a desperate measure (painful for us).
Asking him is a desperate measure.
A somewhat formal phrase meaning 'a desperate measure' or 'a plan devised in extremity'. Often used in written or formal contexts.
That is nothing more than a desperate measure.
The staff reduction was a desperate measure we had to take.
Literally 'the battle formation with one's back to the water'. A classical idiom meaning a do-or-die situation or a desperate measure with no retreat. Used in dramatic or literary contexts.
He entered the negotiations as a desperate measure, with no fallback.
The price cut is the last resort.