(shé) - snake in Mandarin
shéTraditional: 蛇
Translation
snake
Word origin
The 虫 radical for creeping creatures plus 它 (tā) for the sound. 它 was itself the original pictograph of a snake, before it was borrowed away to serve as the pronoun it.
- Origin
- phono-semantic
- Root
- 虫 (creeping creature) + 它 (tā, phonetic)
Stroke order
蛇
Examples
草。
There is a snake in the grass.
。
She has been afraid of snakes since she was small.
。
This kind of snake is not venomous.
。
I was born in the year of the snake.
。
That snake slid away in no time.
蛇 (shé) is a snake, and one of the twelve zodiac animals. 属蛇 means born in the year of the snake, which covers 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001 and 2013.
Its measure word is 条 (tiáo), the one reserved for long thin things: 一条蛇, exactly as in 一条河 for a river and 一条路 for a road. Beginners default to 个 and it grates immediately.
The character hides a small history lesson. Its right half 它 is now the pronoun it, but it started life as a drawing of a snake, and 虫 was added on the left once 它 had been borrowed away. That is why 蛇 reads shé and not tā, and why guessing the sound from the phonetic half fails here.
Where this fits
Used in
Add to review queue
Track this word in your spaced-repetition queue and be tested on it at the right interval.
Go to my review queueMandarin · Free printables
蛇: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "蛇" (snake): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
Free for members
The printable worksheets, infographics and PDFs are free with an account. Start a free week and download as many as you like.
Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 53.