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赎罪 (shú zuì) — to atone for a crime or sin; to make amends

Definition

赎罪 is a formal verb meaning 'to atone for a sin or crime' — often used in religious contexts (e.g. Christ's redemption) or literary writing. It is not used for casual apologies.

verb
to atone for a crime or sinto make amends

Examples

  • 。
    Tā wèi zì jǐ de cuò wù shú le yí cì zuì.
    He atoned for his mistake once.
  • 赎罪，。
    Tā yì zhí zài nǔ lì shú zuì, xī wàng dé dào yuán liàng.
    He has been trying hard to atone, hoping to be forgiven.
  • ，赎罪。
    Zài jī dū jiào zhōng, yē sū tì rén lèi shú zuì.
    In Christianity, Jesus atones for humanity.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

赎shúransom; atone
罪zuìcrime; sin

赎 means to ransom or make amends, and 罪 names the wrongdoing, giving the idea of atoning for a crime.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 贖; 赎 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèishell
Sound part声符shēngfú
𧶠
𧶠𧶠贖shú
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 贖 pairs 貝 (shell) with the sound part 𧶠; the simplified 赎 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 赎 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

罪 puts 罒 (a net, written fully as 网) over 非 (mistake).

Open 罪 →
Appears in
Religion & Belief

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