手立て・手だて|てだてtedate[1]atamadaka (head-high)

1. nounmeans; method
   島しまを出でる手てだてはありません。↗

   There's no way off the island.

• Synonymやり方やりかたNeutralThe most colloquial of the group: the way you do something. 「手立て」 stresses the means you take to deal with a problem.
• Synonym方法ほうほうNeutralThe most common, general word for a method. 「手立て」 often appears as 「手立てがない」 and leans toward countermeasures for a problem.
• Synonym仕方しかたNeutralA way of doing something; in 「仕方がない」 it means there is no help for it. More colloquial than 「手立て」.
• Synonym手段しゅだんNeutralThe means to an end, as in 「交通手段」. More common than 「手立て」, and it can carry a negative shade.
• Synonym手法しゅほうNeutralA technique or method, typically in art or business; the emphasis is on skill and technique.
• Synonym術じゅつWrittenA written, literary word for a means, mostly in negatives like 「なす術もない」.
• SynonymメソッドNeutralA loanword for a method or teaching approach, also a programming term; mostly used in specialized fields.
• Related手続きてつづきNeutralFormal procedures or paperwork, as in 「入学手続き」. It is not a way of solving a problem.
• Related筋道すじみちWrittenA written, formal word for reason, logic and the proper steps; stresses logical order rather than practical measures.
• Related手口てぐちNeutralA criminal's technique or trick, with a negative shade, as in 「詐欺の手口」. 「手立て」 is neutral.
• Related法ほうNeutralA method, usually as a suffix as in 「学習法」; on its own it leans toward written prose.
• Related方式ほうしきNeutralA fixed form or system, as in 「支払い方式」; stresses institutionalized ways of doing things.
• RelatedすべWrittenA written, literary word for a means, mostly in negatives like 「なす術もない」.

Use 「手立て」 for measures taken to deal with a problem, as in 「手立てを講じる」. For methods in general pick 「方法」 or 「やり方」; for techniques in art or business, 「手法」. The rest are narrower: procedures (「手続き」), criminal tricks (「手口」), and so on.

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

1. 方法ほうほう。手段しゅだん。しかた。策略さくりゃく。