饶恕

• Pinyin: ráo shù
• Hanzi breakdown: 饶 = 食 + 尧 (generous mercy); 恕 = 如 + 心 (as if + heart — empathising and therefore forgiving)

Meaning

To forgive; to pardon; to consciously absolve someone of wrongdoing and release resentment or the right to punish.

More formal, weighty, and emotionally significant than 原谅. Common in literary, religious, and formal legal contexts. 请求饶恕 (seek forgiveness) and 予以饶恕 (grant pardon) are standard collocations. Often implies the wrongdoing was serious.

Examples

1. 经过漫长的心理挣扎，她终于选择饶恕了那个曾经深深伤害过她的人，从此放下了多年的怨恨。 After a long inner struggle, she finally chose to forgive the person who had once hurt her deeply, and at last let go of years of resentment.
2. 在临终前，老人请求子女饶恕他年轻时因事业而忽视家庭所犯的过错。 Before his death, the elderly man asked his children to forgive him for the mistakes he made when he was young, when his career led him to neglect the family.
3. 是否应当饶恕罪大恶极的罪犯，是道德哲学中长久以来争论不休的深刻命题。 Whether truly heinous criminals should be forgiven is a profound question that moral philosophy has debated endlessly for a long time.

Usage Guide

Context: moral philosophy, religion, literature, personal relationships

Tone: solemn

Do Say

• 宗教文本中常以饶恕的主题提醒信徒，宽容他人的过错是精神成长的重要一步。(Religious texts frequently use the theme of forgiveness to remind believers that tolerating others' faults is an important step in spiritual growth.)
• 受害者家属在法庭上公开表示无法饶恕被告，并强烈要求法院依法予以最严厉的判处。(The victim's family publicly stated in court that they could not forgive the defendant, and strongly demanded that the court impose the most severe sentence permitted by law.)

Don't Say

• 我饶恕了他来晚了 — use 我原谅了他迟到; 饶恕 implies forgiving a serious moral wrong, not minor social inconveniences like being late

Origin & History

饶 (spare/mercy) + 恕 (forgive) — to spare someone and consciously forgive their wrongdoing

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal