赎 (shú) · to redeem, to ransom, to atone for

Meanings

1 to redeem
2 to ransom
3 to atone for

Characters

赎

shú

to redeem; to ransom

Examples

HSK 3

家人花了很多钱把他赎出来。

Jiārén huā le hěnduō qián bǎ tā shú chūlái.

His family spent a lot of money to ransom him.

HSK 4

他想赎回自己的错误。

Tā xiǎng shúhuí zìjǐ de cuòwù.

He wants to atone for his mistakes.

HSK 6

她用行动来赎罪。

Tā yòng xíngdòng lái shúzuì.

She atoned for her sins through her actions.

Tips

usage

Common compounds: 赎回 (to redeem/buy back), 赎罪 (to atone for sins), 赎金 (ransom money). Can be used literally (paying ransom) or figuratively (atoning).

memory

The left radical 贝 means 'shell/money' - you pay money to buy someone's freedom back. The right side 卖 relates to selling/trading.

Components

radical

贝 bèi

cowrie; shell; money

Left cowrie radical - the indexing component. Pictures a cowrie shell (the earliest Chinese currency, drilled and strung). Anchors 赎 in the money/value family alongside 财 (wealth), 购 (buy), 贵 (expensive), 贸 (trade). Marks the act as a financial transaction - paying to recover something.

phonetic

卖 mài

to sell

Right 卖 supplies the sound - historically the rime aligns with shú (the traditional form used 賣 with a regular shù to shú reading; sound has drifted but rhymes survived in classical poetry). 'Buy back what was sold' fits the meaning: pay money to redeem a pledge, ransom a captive, or atone for a wrong.