| 蛇 | shé | snake; serpent; CL:条 |
| 毒蛇 | dú shé | viper |
| 画蛇添足 | huà shé tiān zú | lit. draw legs on a snake (idiom); fig. to ruin the effect by adding sth superfluous; to overdo it |
一年被蛇咬十年怕
井绳 | yī nián bèi shé yǎo shí nián pà jǐng shéng | bitten by a snake in one year, fears the well rope for ten years (idiom); once bitten twice shy |
一朝被蛇咬，
十年怕井绳 | yī zhāo bèi shé yǎo ,
shí nián pà jǐng shéng | once bitten by a snake, ten years in fear of a well rope; once bitten, twice shy (idiom) |
| 三索锦蛇 | sān suǒ jǐn shé | copperhead race (Elaphe radiata), kind of snake |
| 五步蛇 | wǔ bù shé | Deinagkistrodon, a venomous pit viper; also called five-paced viper (i.e. can grow to five paces) |
| 人心不足蛇吞象 | rén xīn bù zú shé tūn xiàng | a man who is never content is like a snake trying to swallow an elephant (idiom) |
| 人蛇 | rén shé | illegal immigrant |
| 人蛇集团 | rén shé jí tuán | human smuggling syndicate; snakehead gang |
| 人头蛇身 | rén tóu shé shēn | human head, snake's body; cf Nüwa 女娲氏 and Fuxi 伏羲氏 in some versions of mythology |
| 佛口蛇心 | fó kǒu shé xīn | words of a Buddha, heart of a snake (idiom); two-faced; malicious and duplicitous |
| 八岐大蛇 | Bā qí dà shé | Yamanato no Orochi, serpent with eight heads and eight tails from mythological section of Nihon Shoki (Chronicles of Japan) |
| 印度眼镜蛇 | Yìn dù Yǎn jìng shé | Indian Cobra (Naja naja) |
| 四脚蛇 | sì jiǎo shé | lizard; common spoken equivalent of 蜥蜴 |
| 地头蛇 | dì tóu shé | local bully; tyrant; regional mafia boss |
| 大蛇丸 | Dà shé wán | Orochimaru, Japanese folktale hero; Orochimaru, character in the Naruto manga series |
| 巨蛇尾 | jù shé wěi | serpens cauda |
| 巨蛇座 | jù shé zuò | Serpens (constellation) |
| 巳蛇 | sì shé | Year 6, year of the Snake (e.g. 2001) |
| 引蛇出洞 | yǐn shé chū dòng | lit. to pull a snake from its hole; to expose a malefactor (idiom) |
| 强龙不压地头蛇 | qiáng lóng bù yā dì tóu shé | lit. strong dragon cannot repress a snake (idiom); fig. a local gangster who is above the law |
| 打草惊蛇 | dǎ cǎo jīng shé | lit. beat the grass to scare the snake; to inadvertently alert an enemy; to punish sb as a warning to others (idiom) |
| 打蛇不死 | dǎ shé bù sǐ | beat the snake to death or it will cause endless calamity (common saying); nip the problem in the bud |
打蛇不死，
后患无穷 | dǎ shé bù sǐ ,
hòu huàn wú qióng | beat the snake to death or it will cause endless calamity (common saying); nip the problem in the bud |
| 杯弓蛇影 | bēi gōng shé yǐng | lit. to see a bow reflected in a cup as a snake (idiom); fig. unnecessary suspicions; overly fearful |
| 水蛇座 | shuǐ shé zuò | Hydrus (constellation) |
| 滑鼠蛇 | huá shǔ shé | Oriental ratsnake (Ptyas mucosus) |
| 白花蛇 | bái huā shé | long-nosed pit viper (agkistrodon acutus) |
| 白蛇传 | bái shé zhuàn | Tale of the White Snake; Madam White Snake |
| 眼镜蛇 | yǎn jìng shé | cobra |
| 竹叶青蛇 | zhú yè qīng shé | Trimeresurus stejnegeri (poisonous snake) |
| 翠青蛇 | cuì qīng shé | Entechinus major (kind of snake) |
| 虎头蛇尾 | hǔ tóu shé wěi | lit. tiger's head, snake's tail (idiom); fig. a strong start but weak finish |
| 虚与委蛇 | xū yǔ wēi shé | pretense at complying (idiom); sham gestures of politeness |
| 蚺蛇 | rán shé | boa |
| 蛇夫座 | shé fū zuò | Ophiuchus (constellation) |
| 蛇岛 | Shé dǎo | Shedao or Snake island in Bohai sea 渤海 off Lüshun 旅顺 on the tip of the Liaoning peninsula, small rocky island famous for snakes |
| 蛇岛蝮 | Shé dǎo fù | Snake island viper (Gloydius shedaoensis), feeding on migrating birds |
| 蛇年 | shé nián | Year of the Snake (e.g. 2001) |
| 蛇形 | shé xíng | S-shaped; serpentine; coiled like a snake |
| 蛇毒 | shé dú | snake venom |
| 蛇毒素 | shé dú sù | snake toxin |
| 蛇皮 | shé pí | snake skin |
| 蛇纹岩 | shé wén yán | serpentine (geology) |
| 蛇纹石 | shé wén shí | serpentine (geology) |
| 蛇绿岩 | shé lǜ yán | ophiolite (geology) |
| 蛇绿混杂 | shé lǜ hùn zá | ophiolite melange (geology) |
| 蛇绿混杂岩 | shé lǜ hùn zá yán | ophiolite (geology) |
| 蛇绿混杂岩带 | shé lǜ hùn zá yán dài | ophiolite belt (geology) |
