蛇
shé · HSK 5
snake
🐍 蛇 = 虫 (insect/creature radical) + 它 (it), the old character for snake
它 was originally a pictograph of a snake; once it got borrowed for the pronoun 'it', the 虫 radical was added to keep the snake meaning. So 蛇 literally restores the snake sense to its ancient form.
蛇 — insect radical 虫 + 它 (phonetic)
Originally 它 was a pictograph of a snake, showing its head and coiled body. When 它 was borrowed for the pronoun 'it', the insect/reptile radical 虫 was added to 它 to create 蛇, preserving the original snake meaning. So 虫 gives the category (creature) and 它 supplies the sound.