企み|たくらみtakurami[3]nakadaka (mid-high)

1. nounplot; scheme; trick; design; intrigue; artifice; conspiracy
   彼女かのじょはそのたくらみに加くわわったことを否定ひていした。↗

   She denied having taken part in the scheme.

• Synonym企てくわだてNeutralA plan or undertaking; neutral — it can be a legitimate plan or a plot, as in 「暗殺の企て」; 「企み」 almost always implies something bad.
• Synonym策謀さくぼうWrittenDevising schemes; written, with an air of intrigue, common in political strife but also usable for schemes in other settings.
• SynonymトリックNeutralLoanword for tricks and ruses, also the devices that fool the eye in mystery fiction and magic; 「企み」 is more about one's inner designs.
• Synonym陰謀いんぼうNeutralWrongdoing plotted in secret; common, as in 「陰謀論」; can be a criminal conspiracy by several people; 「企み」 is more colloquial and general.
• Synonym策さくNeutralA countermeasure or stratagem, as in 「策を練る」 and 「策を弄する」; neutral or a scheme against someone; broader than 「企み」.
• Synonym策略さくりゃくNeutralStratagems, as in 「策略を巡らす」; often a plot to entrap someone; more written in tone than 「企み」.
• Synonym奸計かんけいWrittenA treacherous, crafty scheme; written style, stressing treachery more than 「企み」, as in 「奸計を巡らす」; rare in everyday speech.
• Synonym悪巧みわるだくみNeutralA wicked scheme; common in speech, as in 「悪巧みをする」; more bluntly names it as wrongdoing than 「企み」 does.
• Synonym謀計ぼうけいWrittenAn evil plot devised in secret; written, old-fashioned and little used; in daily speech say 「計略」 or 「企み」.
• Synonym詭計きけいWrittenA trick to deceive; written, focused on deceiving and ensnaring the other party — narrower than 「企み」; everyday speech prefers 「トリック」.
• Synonym目論見もくろみNeutralA plan or design one has in mind, as in 「目論見が外れる」; not necessarily bad; 「企み」 carries a pejorative shade.
• Synonym悪計あっけいWrittenA vicious scheme; written and little used, stressing wickedness more than 「企み」; in daily speech say 「悪巧み」.
• Synonym密計みっけいWrittenA secret plan; written, stressing secrecy, and not necessarily bad; 「企み」 centers on ill intent.
• Synonym密謀みつぼうWrittenSecret plotting; written and little used, close to 「陰謀」; can take 「する」; 「企み」 is more colloquial.
• Related謀略ぼうりゃくWrittenSchemes to entrap people, as in 「謀略にはまる」; written, common in political and military contexts though not limited to them.
• Related謀はかりごとWrittenStratagem; written and archaic, as in 「謀を巡らす」; not necessarily bad, seen mostly in histories and fiction.
• Related計略けいりゃくNeutralA stratagem or trap, as in 「敵の計略にかかる」; can be neutral or pejorative; 「企み」 leans toward private bad intent.
• Related術策じゅっさくWrittenManipulative tricks, as in 「術策を弄する」; written and pejorative, stressing craft and maneuvering more than 「企み」.
• Related術計じゅっけいWrittenTactics, schemes and means; written and little used; in everyday use say 「策略」 or 「企み」.
• Related偽計ぎけいWrittenA fraudulent scheme; frequent in legal language, as in 「偽計業務妨害」; centers on deception, which 「企み」 need not involve.
• Related詐術さじゅつWrittenThe art of swindling, as in 「詐術を用いる」; written, focused on the means of deception; 「企み」 is the bad plan one forms in the mind.
• Antonym無心むしんNeutralInnocence, a mind free of guile, as in 「無心に遊ぶ子供」; the opposite of the covert scheming 「企み」 implies.

For everyday talk about a bad scheme, 「企み」 and 「悪巧み」 are the natural picks, as in 「何か企みがある」; 「悪巧み」 states the badness more bluntly. For wrongdoing hatched in secret — especially a conspiracy by several people — use 「陰謀」. For neutral plans, choose 「企て」 or 「目論見」. Most of the rest are written-style: 「計略」「策略」「謀略」 for stratagems, 「詭計」「偽計」「詐術」 for deception, 「密計」「密謀」 for secrecy, and 「トリック」 for tricks in mysteries and magic.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

1. 企たくらむこと。計略けいりゃく。
2. 「たくらむ」の連用形れんようけい。