How to Write 赎 (shú) — Meaning “to redeem; to ransom”

Imagine you have a slave (卖) and you need to use your money (贝) to buy their freedom — that is the act of 赎 (to redeem). The component 卖 looks like a person with arms raised, and 贝 reminds you of the payment. This mental image helps connect the shape to the idea of repurchasing someone or something.

The left radical 贝 (4 strokes) is narrow, while the right part 卖 (8 strokes) is wider and should be balanced. A common mistake is making the top of 卖 (十) too large or writing the bottom part 买 with the wrong stroke order — remember the final dot comes after the horizontal hook. Practice keeping the two sides close together for a compact character.

赎 (shú) uses 贝 on the left and 卖 on the right, meaning to redeem. 贱 (jiàn) is a different character, but the similar one shown is 贼 (zéi), which has 贝 and 则 and means "thief" or "traitor." 贳 (shì) is another, but here the paired character 賏 (yīng) means "necklace" and consists of two 贝 side by side — visually, 赎 has a clear left-right structure while 賏 is a double-wide left-right of identical parts.

赎 is commonly used in financial contexts like 赎回 (shú huí) for redeeming investments, and in moral or religious phrases like 赎罪 (shú zuì) meaning to atone for sins. Historically it also appears in 赎身 (shú shēn) for buying oneself out of slavery or debt bondage. This character carries a strong cultural weight of release from obligation, both material and spiritual.

Common words containing 赎 include: 赎回 (shú huí) — to redeem; to buy back; 赎罪 (shú zuì) — to atone for one's sins; to make amends; 赎身 (shú shēn) — to redeem oneself (from slavery or debt).