1.
psychological warfare
Military or political tactics that aim to influence the enemy's morale, beliefs, or decision-making through propaganda, deception, or intimidation rather than direct combat.
心理戦を仕掛ける。
To wage psychological warfare.
冷戦時代には心理戦がさかんに行われた。
Psychological warfare was actively conducted during the Cold War era.
敵の士気を下げるための心理戦は古くから使われてきた。
Psychological warfare to lower enemy morale has been used since ancient times.
2.
mind games, psychological battle
A contest or confrontation where the participants try to gain a psychological advantage over each other through bluffing, pressure, or manipulation. Common in sports, games, business negotiations, and interpersonal conflicts.
ポーカーは心理戦だ。
Poker is a psychological battle.
試合前の記者会見で心理戦が始まった。
The mind games began at the pre-match press conference.
交渉は心理戦の側面が強く、相手の本音を読むことが大切だ。
Negotiations have a strong element of psychological warfare, and reading the other party's true intentions is important.
A compound of 心理 (psychology, mental state) + 戦 (war, battle). The word bridges military and everyday usage — sense 2 (mind games) is perhaps more common in modern Japanese than the literal military meaning.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 心理戦を仕掛ける: to wage a psychological battle
- 心理戦に勝つ: to win the psychological battle
- 心理戦に持ち込む: to turn something into a psychological battle
- 心理戦を繰り広げる: to engage in a psychological battle
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 駆け引き: tactics, maneuvering — interpersonal strategic maneuvering, often in negotiations or relationships
- 情報戦: information warfare — fighting through control of information
- 神経戦: war of nerves — emphasizes the stress and tension of a prolonged standoff