蛇 (shé): snake
蛇 (shé) is a Chinese character meaning “snake.” Classified as HSK Level 5 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 虫 (semantic) and 它 (phonetic). It ranks #1675 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 蛇 worm. Its radical form 虫 (insect) appears in many related characters such as 蛋 (dàn, egg), 虽 (suī, although), 虫 (chóng, insect).
Definitions
- snake
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 蛇 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 毒蛇noun | dú shé | viper |
| 眼镜蛇noun | yǎn jìng shé | cobra |
| 响尾蛇noun | xiǎng wěi shé | rattlesnake |
| 蛇头noun | shé tóu | head of a snake |
| 打草惊蛇phrase | dǎ cǎo jīng shé | lit. beat the grass to scare the snake (idiom) |
| 蟒蛇noun | mǎng shé | python |
| 蛇行verb | shé xíng | to creep |
| 蛇毒noun | shé dú | snake venom |
| 蛇蝎noun | shé xiē | (fig.) malevolent |
| 蛇形 | shé xíng | S-shaped |
| 画蛇添足phrase | huà shé tiān zú | lit. draw legs on a snake (idiom) |
| 水蛇noun | shuǐ shé | water snake |
| 虎头蛇尾phrase | hǔ tóu shé wěi | lit. tiger's head, snake's tail (idiom) |
| 引蛇出洞 | yǐn shé chū dòng | lit. to pull a snake from its hole |
| 地头蛇phrase | dì tóu shé | local bully |
蛇 appears in 91 compound words: 36 as the first character, 36 as the last, and 27 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 蛇 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (13)
false alarm; self-created suspicion; atmosphere of fear and admonition
to give away your position through rash actions; to alert someone of your presence unwittingly
to speak with benevolence and mercy but be vicious and malicious in reality
to start off strong, but finish weak; to be inconsistent with one's effort
lit. dragon's head, snake's tail (idiom); fig. a strong start but weak finish
all sorts of bad things, especially people; cow demons and snake spirits
to give away your position through rash actions; to alert someone of your presence unwittingly
to speak with benevolence and mercy but be vicious and malicious in reality
to start off strong, but finish weak; to be inconsistent with one's effort
lit. dragon's head, snake's tail (idiom); fig. a strong start but weak finish
Showing 12 of 13 idioms containing 蛇.
Example Sentences
这条蛇没有毒，不用害怕。
Zhè tiáo shé méiyǒu dú, búyòng hàipà.
This snake is not poisonous; don't be afraid.
东南亚最大军演“金色眼镜蛇”在泰国启动!日美共同强化区域合作
dōng nán yà zuì dà jūn yǎn jīn sè yǎn jìng shé zài tài guó qǐ dòng ! rì měi gòng tóng qiáng huà qū yù gě zuò
Southeast Asia's largest military exercise "Golden Cobra" was launched in Thailand! Japan and the United States jointly strengthen regional cooperation
在汽旅毒殺2男!韓國蛇蠍美人照片曝光 IG粉絲暴漲50倍
zài qì lǚ dú 殺 nán ! 韓 國 shé 蠍 měi rén zhào piàn pù guāng fěn 絲 bào 漲 bèi
Poisoned Two Men at a Motel! Photos of South Korea's Deadly Beauty Surface, IG Followers Skyrocket 50-Fold
...揭年少叛逆史:翹家15天 帶領「放牛班魯蛇」逆襲
. . . jiē nián shǎo pàn nì shǐ 翹 jiā tiān 帶 領 fàng niú bān 魯 shé nì 襲
...Unveiling a Rebellious Youth: Running Away for 15 Days and Leading the "Cowherd Class Losers" to a Comeback
皮蛇飲食要留意:與免疫力有關!瞭解「4+1」...
pí shé 飲 shí yāo liú yì 與 miǎn yì lì yǒu 關 ! 瞭 jiě . . .
Pay attention to the skin snake diet: It is related to immunity! Learn about "4+1"...
台股金蛇年這7檔規模翻倍增 吸金力道猛
tái gǔ jīn shé nián 這 檔 規 mó fān bèi zēng xī jīn lì dào měng
Taiwan stocks doubled the size of these 7 files in the Year of the Golden Snake, attracting gold.
我的寂寞是一条蛇。
Wǒ de jìmò shì yī tiáo shé.
My loneliness is a snake.
这条蛇是活的还是死的？
Zhè tiáo shé shì huó de háishi sǐ de?
Is the snake alive or dead?
澳大利亚有很多毒蛇吗？
àodàlìyà yǒu hěn duō dúshé ma?
Are there many poisonous snakes in Australia?
一朝被蛇咬，十年怕井绳。
Yīzhāobèishéyǎo, shíniánpàjǐngshéng.
Once bitten, twice shy.
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 虫 (worm) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 蛇 (shé) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 蛇 and 驼?
How many strokes does 蛇 have?
What is the radical of 蛇?
What are the components of 蛇?
What are common words containing 蛇?
What characters sound the same as 蛇 (shé)?
Is 蛇 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 蛇 with real-time feedback
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