noun
ruse; trick; deception tactics
Refers to a deliberate scheme or method used to deceive someone, often in a calculated or strategic manner. Slightly formal or literary tone.
彼の親切は単なる瞞着手段だった。
His kindness was merely a deception tactic.
敵は巧妙な瞞着手段を用いて我々を欺いた。
The enemy deceived us using a clever ruse.
Compound of 瞞着 (manchaku, 'deception') and 手段 (shudan, 'means, method'). 瞞着 itself is a Sino-Japanese word combining 瞞 (man, 'deceive') and 着 (chaku, 'arrive, wear'), though the exact historical derivation is uncertain.