shú​zuì

atone

赎罪 (贖罪) shú​zuì
atone verb
to make amends for a sin, crime, or error through suffering or good deeds; the state of being redeemed

He spent the rest of his life atoning for the mistakes he made in his youth.

buy freedom verb
to pay a fine or ransom to escape legal punishment or captivity

In certain historical periods, criminals could expiate their crimes by paying fines.

Frequency

Movie subtitles
5.22 per million appears in 2% of films
Written text
0.971 per million

Sources

Definitions
CC-CEDICT