Definition

1. Verb:
   • To redeem: To recover possession of something by paying a sum of money, typically something that was pawned, mortgaged, or lost. This is the core meaning.
   • To ransom: To secure the release of a captive by paying a demanded price.
   • To atone for: To make amends for a mistake, fault, or sin, often through a compensatory action.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Anh ấy phải trả tiền để chuộc chiếc nhẫn từ tiệm cầm đồ. (He had to pay money to redeem the ring from the pawnshop.)
  • Gia đình đã chuộc con tin. (The family ransomed the hostage.)
  • Cô ấy cố gắng chuộc lỗi bằng một món quà. (She tried to atone for her mistake with a gift.)

Advanced Usage

• "chuộc tội": to atone for a sin/crime.

  • Hắn muốn chuộc tội bằng cách làm việc thiện. (He wants to atone for his crime by doing good deeds.)

• "chuộc lại": to buy back, to redeem (emphasizing the act of re-acquisition).

  • Công ty đang tìm cách chuộc lại cổ phần. (The company is seeking to buy back its shares.)

Variants and Related Words

• Chuộc mạng (v): to ransom one's life; to buy one's way out of a death sentence.
  • Kẻ phản bội không thể chuộc mạng. (The traitor could not ransom his life.)

Synonyms

• Redeem: To regain possession by payment.
• Ransom: To obtain the release of a prisoner by payment.
• Atone: To make reparation or amends.
• Buy back: To repurchase.

Related Idioms

• Nghìn vàng khôn chuộc: (Literally: A thousand taels of gold cannot redeem it.) Meaning something precious is irreplaceable or lost forever.
  • Lời nói đã thốt ra, nghìn vàng khôn chuộc. (The spoken word, a thousand taels of gold cannot redeem it.)

verb

1. To redeem, to ransom
   • chuộc đám ruộng cầm cố cho địa chủ
     to redeem a plot of land mortgaged to a landlord
   • chuộc một người bị bắt cóc
     to ransom (to redeem, to pay a ransom for) a kidnapped person
   • lập công chuộc tội
     to accomplish a distinguished service and redeem one's offence