切(き)り札(ふだ)

きりふだ
noun
trump card; ace up one's sleeve
1. trump card (in card games)
The strongest card in a card game that can beat other cards.
切(き)り札(ふだ)を出(だ)す。
To play one's trump card.
2. trump card; ace up one's sleeve; decisive measure
A secret weapon, final resource, or decisive advantage held in reserve. The figurative usage is much more common than the literal card game meaning.
切(き)り札(ふだ)を出(だ)す。
To play one's trump card.
まだ切(き)り札(ふだ)は残(のこ)している。
I still have a trump card left.
交渉(こうしょう)の最後(さいご)に切(き)り札(ふだ)を切(き)った。
At the end of the negotiations, they played their trump card.
この新製品(しんせいひん)が我(わ)が社(しゃ)の切(き)り札(ふだ)になるだろう。
This new product will probably be our company's trump card.

Originally from card games, but almost always used figuratively in modern Japanese to mean a decisive advantage or hidden resource.

COMMON COLLOCATIONS:

  • 切(き)り札(ふだ)を切(き)る: to play one's trump card
  • 切(き)り札(ふだ)を出(だ)す: to bring out one's trump card
  • 最後(さいご)の切(き)り札(ふだ): last resort, final trump card
  • 切(き)り札(ふだ)を残(のこ)す: to keep a trump card in reserve
  • 切(き)り札(ふだ)になる: to serve as a trump card

USAGE:
Implies something held back strategically and deployed at a critical moment. Used in business, negotiations, sports, and everyday conversation. The word carries a positive connotation — a powerful hidden advantage — unlike 最後(さいご)の手段(しゅだん) (last resort), which implies desperation.

general
Added 2026.3.19 21:15 · Revised 2026.3.27 9:47
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