How to say “snake” in Chinese
snake
“Snake” in Chinese is 蛇, shé: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
蛇 is read shé. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
On the left, 虫 “insect, creature”; on the right, 它 tā: originally 它 itself was a drawing of a snake.
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “蛇”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 蛇. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 我最怕蛇wǒzuìpàshéSnakes are what I’m most afraid of.
- 蛇把鸡蛋吞下去了shébǎjīdàntūnxiàquleThe snake swallowed the egg.
More characters by topic — happiness, luck, strength, nature — on the page “Chinese characters with meanings”.
More words from the lesson “At the zoo”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “snake” in Chinese?
“Snake” in Chinese is 蛇, pinyin shé.
What does 蛇 mean?
蛇 (shé) means “snake”.
How do you write 蛇?
蛇 is 1 character. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 蛇?
蛇 is read shé. Tones: shé — second tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“snake” in the lesson “At the zoo”
This word is from the topic “Animals, plants, colors” of HSK 5. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
Start for free