shé

variant of 蛇[she2]

snake; serpent; CL:條|条[tiao2]

creeping creature (虫) + sound (它) = snake

虫 is the radical for reptiles and creeping creatures, anchoring this character firmly in the animal world. 它 contributes the sound shé (historically closer to tuó) rather than meaning — though it once meant 'snake' itself before being repurposed as a pronoun.

+
It (third-person pronoun for things)Phonetic
InsectSemantic

草丛里有一条,我很害怕。

cǎo cóng lǐ yǒu yī tiáo shé, wǒ hěn hài pà.

There is a snake in the grass, I am very scared.

那条慢慢地爬过了路。

nà tiáo shé màn màn de pá guò le lù.

That snake slowly crawled across the road.

Words with 蛇

长蛇座

cháng shé zuò

Hydra (constellation)

长蛇阵

cháng shé zhèn

single-line formation (army)

响尾蛇

xiǎng wěi shé

rattlesnake

盐蛇

yán shé

(dialect) gecko

黄颔蛇

huáng hàn shé

adder (zoology)

黑眉蝮蛇

hēi méi fù shé

Snake island viper (Gloydius shedaoensis), feeding on migrating birds

黑腹蛇鹈

hēi fù shé tí

(bird species of China) oriental darter (Anhinga melanogaster)

龙蛇混杂

lóng shé hùn zá

lit. dragons and snakes mingle (idiom)

龙头蛇尾

lóng tóu shé wěi

lit. dragon's head, snake's tail (idiom); fig. a strong start but weak finish

一年被蛇咬,十年怕井绳

yī nián bèi shé yǎo , shí nián pà jǐng shéng

see 一朝被蛇咬,十年怕井繩|一朝被蛇咬,十年怕井绳[yi1 zhao1 bei4 she2 yao3 , shi2 nian2 pa4 jing3 sheng2]

一朝被蛇咬,十年怕井绳

yī zhāo bèi shé yǎo , shí nián pà jǐng shéng

lit. once bitten by a snake, one is scared all one's life at the mere sight of a rope (saying)

丈八蛇矛

zhàng bā shé máo

ancient spear-like weapon 18 Chinese feet 尺[chi3] in length, with a wavy spearhead like a snake's body

More characters with 虫