atone for crimes by meritorious service; redeem oneself
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 3 examplesverb
to atone for one's crimes by performing meritorious service; to redeem oneself through good deeds
formalFormal idiom commonly used in legal, military, and historical contexts. Describes a situation where someone guilty of a crime seeks to make amends or reduce punishment by performing significant beneficial deeds.
Tā他
zhǔ主
dòng动
tóu投
àn案
，
xī希
wàng望
néng能
dài戴
zuì罪
lì立
gōng功
。
He voluntarily surrendered, hoping to atone for his crimes through meritorious service.
Fǎ法
lǜ律
yǔn允
xǔ许
fàn犯
zuì罪
xián嫌
yí疑
rén人
dài戴
zuì罪
lì立
gōng功
，
yǐ以
jiǎn减
qīng轻
chǔ处
fá罚
。
The law allows criminal suspects to redeem themselves through meritorious deeds in order to reduce their punishment.
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Zhè这
wèi位
jiāng将
jūn军
suī虽
yǒu有
guò过
shī失
，
dàn但
hòu后
lái来
zài在
biān边
jiāng疆
dài戴
zuì罪
lì立
gōng功
，
bǎo保
wèi卫
le了
guó国
tǔ土
。
Although this general had made mistakes, he later atoned for his crimes by performing meritorious service on the frontier, defending the national territory.