Serpent in Chinese / Japanese...
Buy a Serpent calligraphy wall scroll here!
Personalize your custom “Serpent” project by clicking the button next to your favorite “Serpent” title below...
Snake / Serpent
Year of the Snake / Zodiac Sign
蛇 is the character for snake or serpent in Chinese, old Korean, and Japanese.
If you were born in the year of the snake, you . . .
Are calm.
Are and inspiration to others.
Have a stubborn nature like a mule (you do not like to concede).
See also our Chinese Zodiac page.
Fire Snake
huǒ shé
hi hebi
火蛇 is the Chinese and Japanese title for "fire snake" or "blazing serpent".
Ophiuchus Zodiac Symbol / Sign
shé fū zuò
蛇夫座 is the Chinese way to write Ophiuchus (serpent bearer) of western astrology.
Please note this version is only used in Chinese (not Japanese).
See Also: Chinese Zodiac
Viper
Poisonous Snake
毒蛇 is the Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja for viper.
毒蛇 can mean viper but may also refer to any poisonous snake or poisonous serpent.
The Five Animals
Dragon Snake Tiger Leopard Crane
龍蛇虎豹鶴 is a list of the Chinese characters for the five animals of Shaolin Kung Fu in a comfortable order (meaning that they are in the proper order and will simply "feel right" to a Chinese person who views this arrangement).
Not the results for serpent that you were looking for?
Below are some entries from our dictionary that may match your serpent search...
| Characters If shown, 2nd row is Simp. Chinese |
Pronunciation Romanization |
Simple Dictionary Definition |
蛇 see styles |
shé she2 she hebi(p); ja; kuchinawa; hemi(ok); hebi へび(P); じゃ; くちなわ; へみ(ok); ヘビ |
 More info & calligraphy: (1) (じゃ is more associated with serpent and large snakes) snake; (2) serpent; large snake; (surname) Hebi sarpa, a serpent, snake. |
龍 龙 see styles |
lóng long2 lung riyou / riyo りよう |
 More info & calligraphy: (out-dated kanji) (1) dragon (esp. a Chinese dragon); (2) naga; semi-divine human-cobra chimera in Hindu and Buddhist mythology; (personal name) Riyou A dragon, dragon-like, imperial; tr. for nāga, which means snake, serpent; also elephant, elephantine, serpent-like, etc., cf. 那. |
ヘビ see styles |
hebi ヘビ |
 More info & calligraphy: |
毒蛇 see styles |
dú shé du2 she2 tu she dokuja; dokuhebi どくじゃ; どくへび |
 More info & calligraphy: poisonous snake; poisonous serpent A poisonous snake.; Poisonous snakes, the four elements of the body— earth, water, fire, wind (or air)— which harm a man by their variation, i. e. increase and decrease. Also, gold. |
巳 see styles |
sì si4 ssu mi(p); shi み(P); し |
6th earthly branch: 9-11 a.m., 4th solar month (5th May-5th June), year of the Snake; ancient Chinese compass point: 150° (1) the Snake (sixth sign of the Chinese zodiac); the Serpent; (2) (obsolete) (See 巳の刻) hour of the Snake (around 10am, 9-11am, or 10am-12 noon); (3) (obsolete) south-southeast; (4) (obsolete) fourth month of the lunar calendar; (female given name) Mi snake |
蜃 see styles |
shèn shen4 shen shin |
giant clam; (mythology) clam-monster said to breathe out a vapor that forms a mirage of buildings Mirage; sea-serpent; frog; shellfish |
冠鷲 see styles |
kanmuriwashi; kanmuriwashi かんむりわし; カンムリワシ |
(kana only) crested serpent eagle (Spilornis cheela) |
初巳 see styles |
hatsumi はつみ |
first Serpent day of the year; (given name) Hatsumi |
大蛇 see styles |
daija; orochi だいじゃ; おろち |
big snake; serpent; (personal name) Daija |
戾龍 戾龙 see styles |
lì lóng li4 long2 li lung |
mythical evil serpent; evil dragon in Western mythology, cf Revelations 14:12 |
蛇蝎 see styles |
dakatsu だかつ |
(1) serpent (snake) and scorpion; (2) detestation |
蛇蠍 see styles |
dakatsu だかつ |
(1) serpent (snake) and scorpion; (2) detestation |
蛇鵰 蛇雕 see styles |
shé diāo she2 diao1 she tiao |
(bird species of China) crested serpent eagle (Spilornis cheela) |
那伽 see styles |
nà qié na4 qie2 na ch`ieh na chieh naka なか |
(female given name) Naka nāga. Snake, dragon, elephant. It is tr. by 龍 dragon and by 象 elephant. (1) As dragon it represents the chief of the scaly reptiles; it can disappear or be manifest, increase or decrease, lengthen or shrink; in spring it mounts in the sky and in winter enters the earth. The dragon is of many kinds. Dragons are regarded as beneficent, bringing the rains and guarding the heavens (again Draco); they control rivers and lakes, and hibernate in the deep. nāga and mahānāga are titles of a Buddha, (also of those freed from reincarnation) because of his powers, or because like the dragon he soars above earthly desires and ties. One of his former reincarnations was a powerful poisonous dragon which, out of pity, permitted itself to be skinned alive and its flesh eaten by worms. (2) A race of serpent-worshippers; (Skt. nāga) |
十二獸 十二兽 see styles |
shí èr shòu shi2 er4 shou4 shih erh shou jūnishū |
The twelve animals for the "twelve horary branches" with their names, hours, and the Chinese transliterations of their Sanskrit equivalents; v. 大集經 23 and 56. There are also the thirty-six animals, three for each hour. The twelve are: Serpent 蛇 巳, 9-11 a.m. 迦若; Horse 馬午, 11-1 noon 兜羅; Sheep 羊未, 1―3 p.m. 毘梨支迦; Monkey 猴申, 3-5 p.m. 檀尼毘; Cock 鶏酉, 5-7 p.m. 摩迦羅; Dog 大戌, 7-9 p.m. 鳩槃; Boar 豕亥, 9-11 p.m.彌那; Rat 鼠子, 11-1 midnight 彌沙; Ox 牛丑 1-3 a.m. 毘利沙; Tiger (or Lion) 虎寅, 3―5 a.m. 彌倫那; Hare 兎卯, 5-7 a.m. 羯迦吒迦; Dragon 龍辰, 7-9 a.m 絲阿. |
妙音天 see styles |
miào yīn tiān miao4 yin1 tian1 miao yin t`ien miao yin tien Myōon Ten |
(妙音樂天) Sarasvatī, the wife or female energy of Brahmā. Also called 辨才天 (辨才天女) Jap. Benzaiten, or Benten; goddess of eloquence, learning, and music, bestower of the Sanskrit language and letters, and the bestower of 財 riches; also the river goddess. Sometimes considered as masculine. Honoured among the seven gods of luck, and often represented as mounted on a dragon or a serpent. |
巳の刻 see styles |
minokoku みのこく |
(exp,n) (archaism) hour of the Snake (around 10am, 9-11am, or 10am-12 noon); hour of the Serpent |
海蛇座 see styles |
umihebiza うみへびざ |
(astron) Hydra (constellation); the Sea Serpent |
烏洛迦 乌洛迦 see styles |
wū luò jiā wu1 luo4 jia1 wu lo chia uraka |
烏羅伽 uraga, going on the belly, a serpent. |
蛇心檀 see styles |
shé xīn tán she2 xin1 tan2 she hsin t`an she hsin tan dashindan |
serpent-sandal; serpent-sandal |
蛇遣座 see styles |
hebitsukaiza へびつかいざ |
(astron) Ophiuchus (constellation); the Serpent Bearer |
迦樓羅 迦楼罗 see styles |
jiā lóu luó jia1 lou2 luo2 chia lou lo karura |
garuḍa; 'a mythical bird, the chief of the feathered race, the enemy of the serpent race, the vehicle of Vishṇu.' M. W. Tr. as golden-winged, with an expanse of 3,360,000 li, carrying the ruyi pearl or talisman on its neck; among other accounts one says it dwells in great trees and feeds on snakes or dragons. Also 迦婁羅; 迦留羅; 迦嘍荼; 伽樓羅; 揭路荼; 誐嚕拏 (or 蘗嚕拏). The association of the garuḍa, like the phoenix, with fire makes it also a symbol of flame 迦樓羅炎; (Skt. garuḍa) |
佛口蛇心 see styles |
fó kǒu shé xīn fo2 kou3 she2 xin1 fo k`ou she hsin fo kou she hsin bukku nishitenjashin |
words of a Buddha, heart of a snake (idiom); two-faced; malicious and duplicitous A Buddha's mouth but a serpent's heart; buddha's mouth and a serpent's heart |
八岐大蛇 see styles |
bā qí dà shé ba1 qi2 da4 she2 pa ch`i ta she pa chi ta she yamatanoorochi やまたのおろち |
Yamata no Orochi, serpent with eight heads and eight tails from mythological section of Nihon Shoki (Chronicles of Japan) eight-headed, eight-tailed serpent (in Japanese mythology) |
十二因緣 十二因缘 see styles |
shí èr yīn yuán shi2 er4 yin1 yuan2 shih erh yin yüan jūni innen |
Dvādaśaṅga pratītyasamutpāda; the twelve nidānas; v. 尼 and 因; also 十二緣起; 因緣有支; 因緣率連; 因緣棘園; 因緣輪; 因緣重城; 因緣觀; 支佛觀. They are the twelve links in the chain of existence: (1) 無明avidyā, ignorance, or unenlightenment; (2) 行 saṃskāra, action, activity, conception, "dispositions," Keith; (3) 識 vijñāna, consciousness; (4) 名色 nāmarūpa, name and form; (5) 六入 ṣaḍāyatana, the six sense organs, i.e. eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind; (6) 觸 sparśa, contact, touch; (7) 受 vedanā, sensation, feeling; (8) 愛 tṛṣṇā, thirst, desire, craving; (9) 取 upādāna, laying hold of, grasping; (10) 有 bhava, being, existing; (11) 生 jāti, birth; (12) 老死 jarāmaraṇa, old age, death. The "classical formula" reads "By reason of ignorance dispositions; by reason of dispositions consciousness", etc. A further application of the twelve nidānas is made in regard to their causaton of rebirth: (1) ignorance, as inherited passion from the beginningless past ; (2) karma, good and evil, of past lives; (3) conception as a form of perception; (4) nāmarūpa, or body and mind evolving (in the womb); (5) the six organs on the verge of birth; (6) childhood whose intelligence is limited to sparśa, contact or touch; (7) receptivity or budding intelligence and discrimination from 6 or 7 years; (8) thirst, desire, or love, age of puberty; (9) the urge of sensuous existence; (10) forming the substance, bhava, of future karma; (11) the completed karma ready for rebirth; (12) old age and death. The two first are associated with the previous life, the other ten with the present. The theory is equally applicable to all realms of reincarnation. The twelve links are also represented in a chart, at the centre of which are the serpent (anger), boar (ignorance, or stupidity), and dove (lust) representing the fundamental sins. Each catches the other by the tail, typifying the train of sins producing the wheel of life. In another circle the twelve links are represented as follows: (1) ignorance, a blind woman; (2) action, a potter at work, or man gathering fruit; (3) consciousness, a restless monkey; (4) name and form, a boat; (5) sense organs, a house; (6) contact, a man and woman sitting together; (7) sensation, a man pierced by an arrow; (8) desire, a man drinking wine; (9) craving, a couple in union; (10) existence through childbirth; (11) birth, a man carrying a corpse; (12) disease, old age, death, an old woman leaning on a stick. v. 十二因緣論 Pratītya-samutpāda śāstra; twelve limbs of dependent origination |
薩裒煞地 萨裒煞地 see styles |
sà póu shà dì sa4 pou2 sha4 di4 sa p`ou sha ti sa pou sha ti satsubusachi |
sarpauṣadhi, serpent-medicine, said to have been provided by (the Buddha when he was) Indra, as a python, in giving his flesh to feed the starving. A monastery in Udyāna built on the reputed spot. Also 薩裒施殺. |
蛇遣い座 see styles |
hebitsukaiza へびつかいざ |
(astron) Ophiuchus (constellation); the Serpent Bearer |
うみへび座 see styles |
umihebiza うみへびざ |
(astron) Hydra (constellation); the Sea Serpent |
ウロボロス see styles |
uroborosu ウロボロス |
uroboros; ouroboros (image of a serpent or dragon swallowing its own tail) |
烏洛迦旃檀 乌洛迦旃檀 see styles |
wū luò jiā zhān tán wu1 luo4 jia1 zhan1 tan2 wu lo chia chan t`an wu lo chia chan tan uraka sendan |
uraga(sāra)-candana, serpent-sandal, a kind of sandal wood, used as a febrifuge; serpent-sandal |
The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...
| Title | Characters | Romaji (Romanized Japanese) | Various forms of Romanized Chinese | |
| Snake Serpent | 蛇 | hebi | shé / she2 / she | |
| Fire Snake | 火蛇 | hi hebi / hihebi | huǒ shé / huo3 she2 / huo she / huoshe | |
| Ophiuchus Zodiac Symbol Sign | 蛇夫座 | shé fū zuò she2 fu1 zuo4 she fu zuo shefuzuo | she fu tso shefutso |
|
| Viper | 毒蛇 | doku hebi / dokuhebi | dú shé / du2 she2 / du she / dushe | tu she / tushe |
| The Five Animals | 龍蛇虎豹鶴 龙蛇虎豹鹤 | ryuu hebi tora hyou tsuru ryuuhebitorahyoutsuru ryu hebi tora hyo tsuru | lóng shé hǔ bào hè long2 she2 hu3 bao4 he4 long she hu bao he longshehubaohe | lung she hu pao ho lungshehupaoho |
| In some entries above you will see that characters have different versions above and below a line. In these cases, the characters above the line are Traditional Chinese, while the ones below are Simplified Chinese. | ||||
Many custom options...
And formats...
Successful Chinese Character and Japanese Kanji calligraphy searches within the last few hours...
1 Corinthians 13:4-87 Virtues of BushidoA Journey of a Thousand MilesAbundance and ProsperityAiki JujutsuAkumaAlways and ForeverArchangelAriesArt of WarAspirationAsuraBagua ZhangBalanceBanzaiBe Like WaterBe True to YourselfBe Water My FriendBe YourselfBenevolenceBetter Late Than NeverBibleBig DipperBlack BeltBlacksmithBlessingsBody and MindBoldBrahmaviharaBrave the WavesBreathBreatheBrotherhoodBrotherly LoveBuddhaBuddha ShakyamuniBudoBushido CodeCalmCarpe DiemCheersCherishCherry BlossomChi EnergyChito-RyuClarityClear MindConsiderateCourage and StrengthCreativityDaito Ryu Aiki JujutsuDark AngelDark OneDarknessDeath Before DishonorDeath Before SurrenderDedicationDestiny FateDeterminationDharmaDim MakDiscipleDisciplineDivineDivine ProtectionDivine SpiritDojo KunDouble HappinessDragon KingDragon WarriorEarth DragonEffortEightfoldEmptinessEmpty HandEnduranceEnergyEnjoy LifeEnsoEnso CircleEnthusiasmEternal HappinessEternal LoveEven Monkeys Fall from TreesEverlasting LifeEverything Happens for a ReasonEvil Cause Evil ResultExperience is the Mother of WisdomFailure is the Mother of SuccessFaithFaith in GodFaith in YourselfFall 7 Rise 8Fall Down 7 Times Get Up 8Fallen AngelFamily FirstFamily is My StrengthFamily Over EverythingFear No EvilFearlessFidelityFierceFireFire DragonFire SnakeFire TigerFive ElementsFlexibilityFlowers Bloom and Flowers FallFollow Your DreamsFollow Your HeartFor Indomitable SpiritForever FamilyForever in My HeartForgive and ForgetForgivenessFortune Favors the BraveFour SeasonsFurinkazanGod is LoveGodzillaGokuGolden DragonGood HealthGrandmasterHapkidoHappinessHappiness Good FortuneHave Faith in GodHavocHawaiiHealthyHeart SutraHeavenHentaiHeroHiroshiHoly TrinityHome is Where the Heart IsHon Sha Ze Sho NenHonorHonor and IntegrityHumilityHunterI Love You Forever and AlwaysIkigaiImmortalIn God We TrustIndomitableIndomitable SpiritInfinite LoveInfinityInner PeaceInner PowerInner StrengthInnovationIntegrityIntelligenceInuyashaIt is the Journey Not the DestinationJackie ChanJasmineJeet Kune DoJesus ChristJesus Christ is LordJing Qi ShenJohn 3:16Joshua 24:15JudoJuggernautJupiterJust Do ItKajukenboKarate-DoKeep FightingKempo KarateKirinKnow Thy Enemy Know ThyselfLand of the Rising SunLao TzuLegendLeopardLife Energy Spiritual EnergyLife ForceLife Goes OnLife is a JourneyLife is BeautifulLittle DragonLive in the MomentLive Laugh and LoveLive Laugh LoveLive Life With No RegretsLive Love LaughLondonLone WolfLost SoulLotusLotus SutraLove
