蛇（へび）
JLPT N5 · noun
Pitch accent: atamadaka (head-high) — first mora high, then falls
Meaning: snake
Example sentences
- 草の中に長い蛇がいた。 — There was a long snake in the grass.
- 蛇には足がない。 — Snakes have no legs.
Idioms & proverbs containing “蛇”
- 蛇の道は蛇 (じゃのみちはへび) — the wolf knows what the ill beast thinks; it takes one to know one; it takes a thief to catch a thief
- 盲蛇に怖じず (めくらへびにおじず) — fools rush in where angels fear to tread; the blind don't fear snakes
- 灰吹きから蛇が出る (はいふきからじゃがでる) — unexpected things can come from unexpected places; small things can lead to unexpectedly large consequences
- 鬼が出るか蛇が出るか (おにがでるかじゃがでるか) — God only knows what may happen
- 蛇に噛まれて朽ち縄に怖じる (へびにかまれてくちなわにおじる) — once bitten twice shy; to become over cautious from a bad experience; to be bitten by a snake and thus fear a rotten rope (which resembles a snake)
- 竜頭蛇尾 (りゅうとうだび) — strong beginning and weak ending; anticlimax
Related words
See it used in real works
- Example sentences from Japanese novels & web fiction (Massif)
- Hear “蛇” pronounced in real videos (YouGlish)