蛇

The Chinese character 蛇 (shé) for "snake" is a pictograph that depicts a snake's body. The character is composed of two parts: the radical 虫 (chóng), which means "insect," and the phonetic component 者 (zhě). The radical 虫 indicates that the character is related to insects, while the phonetic component 者 provides a clue to the pronunciation of the character.The character 蛇 has a long history, dating back to the oracle bone script of the Shang dynasty (c. 1600-1046 BC). In the oracle bone script, the character 蛇 was written as a simple pictograph of a snake. Over time, the character evolved into its current form.The character 蛇 is used in a variety of words and phrases related to snakes. For example, the word 蛇毒 (shé dú) means "snake venom," while the word 蛇皮 (shé pí) means "snake skin." The character 蛇 is also used in the Chinese zodiac, where it represents the year of the snake.The character 蛇 is a common character in Chinese, and it is important for HSK learners to be familiar with its meaning and pronunciation.