Year of the Snake

The Japanese word 巳年 meaning "Year of the Snake" is composed of the kanji 巳 (read hebi) meaning "sign of the snake" and 年 (read doshi) meaning "year". One also sees this commonly translated as "Year of the Serpent" and the alternative reading midoshi. If you are looking for the animal "snake" then consider using 蛇 Snake (hebi).