The kanji 蛇 means "snake" or "serpent." It represents the animal known for its long, limbless body and ability to move on the ground. This kanji captures the essence of a snake, including its slithering movement and association with nature.

・On-yomi (音読み): ジャ (ja) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): へび (hebi)

⚫︎毒蛇 (dokujya) Translation: poisonous snake ⚫︎蛇口 (jaguchi) Translation: faucet; tap ⚫︎蛇行 (dako) Translation: meandering; winding

The kanji 蛇 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字, けいせいもじ). The semantic component (意符, いふ) is "虫" (むし), meaning "insect" or "worm," indicating the general category of creature. The phonetic component (音符, おんぷ) is 也 (also pronounced "ya"), which provides the sound of the character. The combination of these two components gives the meaning of a snake as a type of worm-like creature.