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Kanji Detail for 蛇 - "snake, serpent"

蛇

  • Meaning

    蛇 means "snake, serpent."

    1. Snake - A legless reptile.

    2. Serpent - A snake, especially a large one.

  • Words using 蛇

    • 蛇の目 じゃのめ Listen bull's-eye (pattern); double ring (pattern); umbrella with bull's-eye pattern
    • 蛇口 じゃぐち Listen faucet; tap

  • Four-character idioms with 蛇

    • 封豕長蛇 ほうしちょうだ Listen greedy and cruel
    • 打草驚蛇 だそうきょうだ Listen prodding the unknown may bring about unnecessary trouble; brushing a patch of grass may startle a snake
    • 牛鬼蛇神 ぎゅうきだしん Listen wicked and perverse; weird and incoherent
    • 画蛇添足 がだてんそく Listen making an unnecessary addition (to); gilding the lily
    • 竜頭蛇尾 りゅうとうだび Listen strong beginning and weak ending; anticlimax
    • 蜿蜿長蛇 えんえんちょうだ Listen long and serpentine (line, queue, etc.)

  • Tattoo check: 蛇

    • Verified meaning: snake, serpent
    • Official Jōyō kanji — a standard character every Japanese reader recognises
    • Used in real Japanese given names (read へび)

    A single kanji rarely maps one-to-one onto an English word. Read the meanings and associations above as a set — a character that fits the dictionary definition can still carry a connotation you did not intend.

  • Name readings of 蛇

    Surnames 蛇(へび)Listen

  • Dictionary Citations

    The meaning above is based on the following sources:

    KANJIDIC2 A comprehensive Japanese-English kanji dictionary

    snake; serpent; hard drinker

    Unihan Unicode Han Database for CJK characters

    snake

    CC-CEDICT A Chinese-English dictionary

    variant of 蛇[she2]

    Make Me a Hanzi Open-source Chinese character data

    snake

    XSZD Xuéshēng Zìdiǎn (學生字典) - Student's Dictionary

    A type of reptile. Body is a long cylindrical shape. Long tail. No feet. Moves by freely extending and contracting ribs. Entire body is covered with scales and transparent outer skin. Sheds yearly, called 蛇蛻 (snake skin). Tongue is forked. Teeth are curved like hooks. Venomous ones have two special venom fangs. Can rise and lower on their own. Often lives in burrows underground. Some also live in water. | A metaphor for treachery. Such as saying 佛口蛇心 (Buddha's mouth, snake's heart). Therefore describing fierce and obstinate people as 封豕長蛇 (giant pig and long snake). | 委蛇. An appearance of leisurely contentment.

  • Onyomi

    tip

    da(ダ) ダ

    i(イ) イ

    ja(ジャ) ジャ

    ya(ヤ) ヤ

  • Kunyomi

    tip

    hebi(へび) へび

  • Strokes

    tip

    11 strokes

  • Radical

    tip

    虫 (mushi・mushihen)

  • Related Keywords

    snake serpent meandering slithering sluggish anaconda asp bite cobra coil cold-blooded constrictor fangs hiss legless poisonous python reptile scales venom viper

Sentences including 蛇

  • They that hide can find.

  • A snake bit me.

  • The snake shed its skin.

  • I'm afraid of snakes.

  • He has an abhorrence of snakes.

  • The snake swallowed a frog.

  • I have a horror of snakes.

  • She drew back when she saw a snake.

  • He is afraid of snakes.

  • It is the snake that tempts Eve.

Sentences from Japanese classical masterpieces

More kanji with the radical 虫 (mushi・mushihen)

See all kanji with this radical →

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