蛇 Stroke Order — How to Write 蛇

Stroke Order

蛇 is written in 11 strokes, following the standard Chinese stroke order. Start from the radical 虫, then complete the remaining strokes.

Stroke order matters in Chinese: it keeps the character balanced, and it is how dictionaries and handwriting input methods expect a character to be written.

蛇 Radical and Character Components

Components:虫它

蛇 is a phono-semantic compound: 虫 (worm) carries the meaning, while 它 indicates the sound.

Radical: 虫 + 5 more strokes

蛇 Pronunciation and Pinyin

shé
yí

Meanings of 蛇 in Chinese

shé蛇

A long, legless reptile, some venomous, some not, known for its slithering movement. Often used metaphorically to describe winding paths or surreptitious actions.

小路上积雪很深，他只能艰难地在雪中蛇行

The snow on the path was very deep, and he could only snake through it with difficulty.

yí蛇

When pronounced as 'yí', '蛇' is part of the idiom '委蛇' (wēi yí), which means to act in a compliant, tactful, or evasive manner, often to avoid direct confrontation or to be adaptable.

他总是能委蛇地处理人际关系，避免正面冲突。

He is always able to handle interpersonal relationships in a compliant and tactful manner, avoiding direct confrontation.

Common Words and Phrases with 蛇

shé蛇guǎn管

A coiled or spiral tube system, often a helical condenser used in distillation, also known as a worm coil.

冷却系统中使用了一个铜制的蛇管，以提高散热效率。

A copper coil was used in the cooling system to improve heat dissipation efficiency.

shé蛇kǒu口fēng蜂zhēn针

Describes a person with an extremely malicious and venomous heart, likened to the bite of a snake or the sting of a bee.

那个老妇人平日里总是面带微笑，可说起话来却是蛇口蜂针，字字伤人

That old woman always wore a smile on her face, but when she spoke, her words were venomous and stung like a snake's fangs and a bee's sting, each word hurting.

shé蛇qié茄

A type of eggplant with long, cylindrical, and often curved fruit, also known as snake eggplant.

今年夏天，我们种了一些蛇茄，它们的果实又长又弯，非常有趣。

This summer, we planted some snake eggplants; their fruits are long and curved, very interesting.

shé蛇quán拳

Snake boxing is a style of Chinese martial arts (kung fu) that mimics the movements of a snake, integrating them into fighting techniques.

李师傅从小练习蛇拳，他的动作既灵敏又富有力量。

Master Li has been practicing Snake Fist since childhood; his movements are both agile and powerful.

shé蛇shǔ鼠héng横xíng行

Unscrupulous individuals running rampant.

由于缺乏严格的监管，那片区域变得蛇鼠横行，各种非法活动日益猖獗。

Due to a lack of strict supervision, that area became rampant with unscrupulous individuals, and various illegal activities became increasingly prevalent.

shé蛇xiē蝎

Vicious people or a malicious nature, often likened to snakes and scorpions.

他是一个蛇蝎心肠的人，对谁都冷酷无情。

He is a cruel and vicious person, merciless to everyone.

shé蛇xíng行

To move like a snake, either by crawling on the ground or by winding/meandering.

蜿蜒的小径在森林中蛇行，引导游客走向湖边

The winding path snakes through the forest, leading visitors to the lakeside.

shé蛇yǐng影bēi杯gōng弓

To be overly suspicious and self-frightened due to groundless fears.

他因为一次小小的挫折，就开始对未来感到蛇影杯弓，总是担心会发生不好的事情。

After a minor setback, he started to feel overly suspicious and panicky about the future, always worrying that something bad would happen.

shé蛇zú足

something superfluous; an unnecessary addition or elaboration

这部小说的结局本来已经很精彩了，作者再加入一个多余的后记，简直是画蛇添足，多此一举。

The ending of this novel was already brilliant, but the author adding an unnecessary epilogue was simply a case of drawing legs on a snake, a redundant act.