蛇 — “Snake / Serpent / Hard Drinker” in Japanese

Master (高手)じゃ, だ, い, や, へび

Radical ⾍ · radical 142 The building block this kanji is filed under

“Snake / Serpent / Hard Drinker” in Japanese is 蛇, read ja, da, i (じゃ, だ, い, や, へび). It is a Jōyō kanji taught in Japanese secondary school (junior & senior high) — the 高手 · Master tier beyond the grade 1–6 Kyōiku set, and appears in words such as 蛇 (snake).

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What does 蛇 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	蛇
Meaning	Snake / Serpent / Hard Drinker
Readings	じゃ, だ, い, や, へび
Grade	Master (高手 · secondary school)
Curriculum	Jōyō kanji · Japanese secondary school (JLPT N1–N2)
Example	蛇 (snake)

How to read 蛇

蛇 is read ja (じゃ) or da (だ) or i (い) or ya (や) or hebi (へび) depending on the word.

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Updated: 2026-08-28