蛇

• Primary: Snake, serpent.
• Attributive/Descriptive: Used to describe winding, undulating, or serpentine forms (e.g., a river, path, or line of troops), denoting geometry and motion rather than the animal itself.

Predominantly a noun. In elliptical prose, it may function as a modifier to indicate serpentine movement or shape.

• 虺 (huǐ): Specifically a viper or small venomous snake; 蛇 is used for the general category of serpent.
• 蛟 (jiāo): A water-serpent or flood-dragon; context is required to distinguish biological snakes from this mythological entity in aquatic settings.
• 龍 (lóng): In early texts, the boundary between a "long snake" (長蛇) and a dragon can be porous.