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What's the difference between 战略 and 策略？

The word I am looking to translate from English is "strategy." I vaguely remember a Chinese teacher once explaining 战略 as more of high level strategy and 策略 as department-based tactics.

I've found an article on the Chinese MBAlib explaining "pricing strategy" as 价格策略. MBAlib Link

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    see dictionaries：bkrs： 战略 strategy: 全球战略 global strategy military strategy 1) 作战的谋略。 2) 指导战争全局的计划和策略。对战术而言。 3) 比喻在一定历史时期指导全局的方略。 fr。: #680 策略 [strategy] 计策; 谋略 tactics （制定的行动方针和斗争方式） tactics: 研究对敌斗争的策略 study the tactics of our struggle against the enemy 制定新的策略 devise new tactics 合法的斗争策略 lawful struggle tactics 要成为有成就的政治家，就必须有高明的策略。 If you want to be a successful politician， you must make yourself able in tactics. （讲究斗争艺术） tactful: 做事要策略一些 do things more tactfully 这样做不策略。 It's not tactful to do so. {数} （对策） policy; strategy; game fr。 #3849
    – user6065
    Commented Jul 12, 2018 at 20:58
  • not synonymous,＂汉语同义词词典＂has pair，战略\战术 and triple 策略\方略\政策
    – user6065
    Commented Jul 12, 2018 at 21:09
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    Best for "strategy" depends on context because the English word is lax in usage, unlike the Chinese counterparts. 战略 refers to large-scale strategic planning of all kinds, since its use has been broadened so much. 战策 refers specifically to tactics of warfare. 策略 is any plan of attack, scheme or stratagem. "Pricing strategy," despite the name, clearly is not strategic planning but falls under a scheme or stratagem. It's really "pricing stratagem."
    – Nimrod
    Commented Jul 28, 2018 at 5:58

4 Answers 4

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战略
1.指导战争全局的计划和策略。对战术而言。 （战术: tactic）
洪深《戏剧导演的初步知识》：“兵书上说得好：战略与战术乃二个全异之行动。战术是关于战斗诸种行动之指导法，战略乃连系配合各种战斗之谓。战略为作战之根源，即创意定计；战术乃实行战略所要求之手段。”
2.有关战争全局的。
由战略防御转入战略进攻。
3.比喻在一定历史时期指导全局的方略。
邓小平《高级干部要带头发扬党的优良传统》：“我们一定要认识到，认真选好接班人，这是一个战略问题。”

战略，是一种从全局考虑谋划实现全局目标的规划，战术只为实现战略的手段之一。实现战略胜利，往往有时候要牺牲部分利益，去获得战略胜利。战略是一种长远的规划，是远大的目标，往往规划战略、制定战略、用于实现战略的目标的时间是比较长的。 争一时之长短，用战术就可以达到！如果是“争一世之雌雄”，就需要从全局出发去规划，这就是战略！

战略 and 策略 may not be directly mapping to English as strategy and tactic. But for sure, 战略 is something that think bigger, long term, comprehensive and high level one. From Chinese to English, the mapping English word for 战略 is strategy. But from English to Chinese, the word for strategy can be 战略 or 策略. It depends. Why is 策略 here for Pricing Strategy? I think this is because 战略 is more comprehensive, globally, something bigger than only pricing. It may consider all the aspects the corporation should care about. Sometimes, 战略 could be more abstract than 策略. Pricing is just one aspect, specific and detail topic here. If you search 经营策略 in that site, you will find many words about 经营战略. Because 企业经营（running business） is more strategy and bigger topic than pricing.

And another thing is that 战略 is now widely used in many competitive context, not only about military and war.

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The simple difference is that 戰略 has the word 戰(war) in it, in fact the literal meaning of 戰略 is the 策略 used in 戰爭.

So in a broader sense, they both carry similar meaning, but 戰略 is used in a more aggressive, complex or serious context.

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I think your teacher has the point. There are no corresponding English word for 战略 or 策略, so you can not simply put 战略==strategy and 策略==tactic.

Like your teacher said: 战略 is a high-level strategy. For example, 公司未来三年的发展战略; 国家经济发展的战略； Well, 策略 is a normal or low-level strategy, such as a marketing strategy（市场营销策略）. 策略 can also be a tactic, by which you can achieve a specific goal. For example, 这场比赛我的策略是...(our tactic for this game is...).

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I feel 策略 is more strategy and 战略 seems a bit more tactical.

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  • Why do you say that?
    – jneb802
    Commented Jul 12, 2018 at 22:27
  • 策略 is more broad and general; you can use it in pretty any context re: strategy. 战略, on the other hand, is more specific (hence the word 战). It is typically only used in actual battles or scenarios with a battlefield metaphor. Of course, it could differ depending on where you are.
    – The Lyrist
    Commented Jul 13, 2018 at 0:21
  • On the contrary, 战略 is more strategy, considering something bigger, while 策略 is more tactical, more in detail.
    – Bruce Huang
    Commented Jul 13, 2018 at 10:59
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    It is not true. For business strategy, it is almost always translated into 市場策略. 戰略 is pretty much only used in military context.
    – The Lyrist
    Commented Jul 13, 2018 at 11:32
  • Not really... I think business strategy can also be translated into 商业战略，企业战略，经营策略. And 市场策略/营销策略 maybe marketing strategy. It depends on the contents that you would like to discuss. But in Chinese, 战略 is really bigger and higher level than 策略. Regarding to your comments that "戰略 is pretty much only used in military context.", I would say 商战 is also a common word we use. So business can be taken as something like military in our language custom. However, I don't think 战略 is just in military context. We also have the word like 经济发展战略. 战略 is already widely used in many competitive context.
    – Bruce Huang
    Commented Jul 13, 2018 at 17:27

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