verb HSK 6
shè miǎn
to pardon · to grant amnesty · to remit (a punishment)

Meaning

赦免 means to officially forgive someone for a crime and release them from punishment, typically used in legal or governmental contexts. It refers to the formal act of a government or authority figure granting clemency or amnesty to convicted individuals, reducing or eliminating their sentences.

Usage

This is a formal, literary term commonly used in legal documents, news reports about government pardons, and historical texts. It's much more formal than everyday words for forgiveness like 原谅. Often used with official subjects like 政府 (government) or 总统 (president).

Examples

  1. 01
    总统决定赦免那些政治犯。
    Zǒng tǒng jué dìng shè miǎn xiē zhèng zhì fàn.
    The president decided to pardon those political prisoners.
  2. 02
    古代皇帝常在重大节日时赦免罪犯。
    dài huáng cháng zài zhòng jié shí shè miǎn zuì fàn.
    Ancient emperors often pardoned criminals during major festivals.

Characters

Common collocations

  • 赦免罪犯
    shè miǎn zuì fàn
    to pardon criminals
  • 获得赦免
    huò shè miǎn
    to receive a pardon
  • 赦免
    shè miǎn lìng
    pardon order

Antonyms

Origin

赦 combines 赤 (red) and 攵 (action radical), historically referring to the emperor's red decree of pardon. 免 originally depicted a woman in childbirth being released from difficulty, extending to mean exemption or removal of obligation.

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