赎

• Pinyin: shú
• Hanzi breakdown: 赎 = 贝 + 卖 (cowrie/money + to sell — to buy back; to redeem)

Meaning

To redeem; to ransom; to atone for (a sin or crime); to buy back.

Covers both legal-financial and moral-spiritual senses. Legal: 赎回 (to redeem an asset), 赎金 (ransom money), 赎身 (to buy one's freedom). Moral/spiritual: 赎罪 (to atone for sins). The concept spans law, religion, and ethics.

Examples

1. 这位悔罪的前官员在狱中研读法律与哲学，并参与公益，试图用行动赎回失去的道德信誉。 The repentant former official studied law and philosophy in prison and took part in public welfare work, trying to redeem the moral credibility he had lost through his actions.
2. 古代赎身制让奴婢攒钱赎回自由，但也把人的尊严标价。 In ancient times, the manumission system let slaves save money to buy back their freedom, but it also put a price on human dignity.
3. 绑匪索要高额赎金，家属若私下先赎，反而可能害了人质。 When kidnappers demand a huge ransom, if the family pays it secretly first, it may actually endanger the hostage.

Usage Guide

Context: law, religion, ethics, history, finance

Tone: serious

Do Say

• 他用余生的善行来赎清年轻时的过错，尽管社会并非总是给予宽恕，但他始终相信真诚的悔过与持续的善举终将比任何言辞都更有说服力。(He spent the rest of his life atoning for the mistakes of his youth through good deeds; although society does not always grant forgiveness, he always believed that sincere remorse and sustained kindness would ultimately be more persuasive than any words.)
• 典当法明确规定，出典人在约定期限内可依法以赎回价格回购典物，逾期未赎者则视为放弃回赎权利，典物归典权人所有。(The Pawn Law clearly stipulates that the pledgor may legally repurchase the pledged property at the redemption price within the agreed period; if redemption is not made by the deadline, the pledgor is deemed to have forfeited the right of redemption, and the pledged property shall belong to the pledgee.)

Don't Say

• 赎 alone in place of 救赎 when discussing religious or philosophical concepts of salvation — while 赎 covers ransom and legal redemption well, theological discussions of salvation in Christian or broader spiritual contexts typically use 救赎 as the full compound; using 赎 alone in these contexts may sound truncated or overly transactional

Origin & History

赎 = 贝 + 卖 (cowrie shell/money + to sell — to buy back; to redeem with payment)

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal