たくむ

た

く

む

たくむ · godan verb (-mu)

Form	Positive	Negative
Dictionary	たくむ	たくまない
Polite	たくみます	たくみません
Past polite	たくみました	たくみませんでした
Past	たくんだ	たくまなかった
Te-form	たくんで	たくまないで
Desire	たくみたい	たくみたくない
Potential	たくめる	たくめない
Passive	たくまれる	たくまれない
Causative	たくませる	たくませない
Causative passive	たくませられるalso たくまされる	たくませられないalso たくまされない
Volitional	たくもう
Polite volitional	たくみましょう
Imperative	たくめ	たくむな
Conditional	たくめば	たくまなければ
Tara conditional	たくんだら	たくまなかったら

Meanings

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.

See all 6 example sentences ›

Kanji

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

Related 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.

Word family

悪わる巧だくみ
evil scheme; sinister plot; wiles
巧たくみN1
skillful; clever; adroit; ingenious · skill; craftsmanship; ingenuity; design · plot; scheme; artifice; trick
言こと葉ば巧たくみ
smooth-talking; glib; honey-tongued

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.

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.