仕掛け
Meanings
A physical or mechanical contrivance; something built to perform a specific function, often with clever design.
This toy has many interesting mechanisms.
A calculated scheme or deceptive setup, often in games, strategy, or interpersonal situations.
His kindness was just a trick.
He won by using a clever gambit in shogi.
small scale; half-finished
Rare; refers to something on a small scale or left incomplete. Often seen in compound contexts like 仕掛け仕事 (piecework) or 仕掛け品 (work in progress).
Half-finished goods are piled up in this factory.
setting up; preparation; commencement
The act of starting or arranging something; often used in the sense of laying out a plan or initiating a process.
The preparations for the event are already in place.
Setting up the new business took time.
Rare; used in competitive contexts like shogi or go for an aggressive move or challenge. Not common in everyday speech.
He cornered his opponent with a sharp attack.
Usage patterns
- 〈物〉に仕掛けを施すto build a device/trick into something
The box had a device built in that made a sound when opened.
- 仕掛けが作動するfor a mechanism/trap to activate
As soon as someone approached the door, the mechanism activated and music started playing.
- 仕掛けを解くto figure out/undo a trick or mechanism
He quickly figured out the trick behind the magic.
- 〈人〉の仕掛けにはまるto fall for someone's trap/scheme
We fell right into his trap.
Expressions
- 種も仕掛けもないno tricks or gimmicks; perfectly ordinary