たくむ

た

く

む

Meanings

1

godan verb (-mu), transitive verb

devise; plot; plan

usually written using kana alone

Implies careful, sometimes cunning, planning; often used for schemes, strategies, or elaborate tricks.

彼かれは巧こう妙みょうな詐さ欺ぎをたくんだ。
He devised an elaborate fraud.

敵てきの裏うらをかく作さく戦せんをたくむ。

They plot a strategy to outwit the enemy.

Written forms

たくむUsage43%
Usually written in kana; the kanji forms 巧む and 工む are rare and may not be recognized by all readers.
巧たくむUsage55%
Rare kanji form; the character 巧 suggests skill or ingenuity, but the word is normally written in kana.
工たくむUsage2%
Rare kanji form; 工 is associated with craft or construction, but this spelling is seldom used.

Kanji

巧adroit, skilled, ingenuity
工craft, construction, katakana e radical (no. 48)

Similar words

企くわだてる
企てる also means 'to plan' or 'to scheme', but often implies a larger, more ambitious undertaking, while たくむ focuses on clever, sometimes deceptive, contrivance.
考かんがえる
考える is the general word for 'to think'; たくむ adds a nuance of deliberate, often crafty, planning.

Etymology

The origin is uncertain. It may be related to the classical verb たくむ (to twist or braid), suggesting the idea of weaving a plan. The kanji 巧 (skillful) and 工 (craft) are likely later associations.