dirty trick; sinister scheme; sly plot
Refers to a cunning, underhanded plan or scheme, often with a negative moral judgment. Used in formal or written contexts.
敵の奸策を見破った。
We saw through the enemy's sinister scheme.
彼は奸策を巡らせて政敵を失
He hatched a dirty trick to bring down his political rival.
策略 is a neutral term for a strategy or tactic, whereas 奸策 specifically implies a dishonest or evil scheme.
Standard kanji form; 奸 carries a nuance of cunning or wickedness.
Variant using 姦, which also implies wickedness or scheming; less common than 奸策.
Compound of 奸 (kan, 'cunning, wicked') and 策 (saku, 'plan, scheme'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the word is formed from Sino-Japanese morphemes.