HSK 4 · Verbs

参观 cānguān “to look around” in Chinese

Traditional 參觀

What 参观 means

  1. to look around
  2. to tour
  3. to visit (a place, e.g. museum or factory)

How to say 参观

  • Pitch chart of the first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale参cān1st tone, high and level
  • Pitch chart of the first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale观guān1st tone, high and level

参观 in a sentence

  1. 她带我参观了校园。

    Tā dài wǒ cānguān le xiàoyuán.

    She showed me around the campus.

    Sentence #346144 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters

  2. 我们上周参观了博物馆。

    Wǒmen shàngzhōu cānguān le bówùguǎn.

    We visited the museum last week.

    Sentence #874700 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters

  3. 我们第一次参观了他的家乡。

    Wǒmen dìyī cì cānguān le tā de jiāxiāng.

    We visited his hometown for the first time.

    Sentence #335889 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 参观 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 参 (cān) with each of its parts in a different colour
参cānto take part in
  • 厶private · sī
  • 大big · dà
  • 彡bristle · shānSound part
The character 观 (guān) with each of its parts in a different colour
观guānto look at
  • 又again · yòu
  • 见to see · jiàn

How to write 参观

参 8 strokes · 观 6 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

参观 (cānguān) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 参观 (cānguān). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 参观

Words with 参

参加cānjiā · participate参考cānkǎo · to consult参与cānyù · to take part (in)参谋cānmóu · adviser参照cānzhào · to refer to

Words with 观

观众guānzhòng · spectators观察guānchá · to observe观点guāndiǎn · point of view观念guānniàn · notion悲观bēiguān · pessimistic客观kèguān · objective乐观lèguān · optimistic主观zhǔguān · subjective可观kěguān · considerable美观měiguān · attractive

More words: Common Verbs

抱bào · to hold遍biàn · measure word for times (start to finish)不管bùguǎn · not to be concerned擦cā · to wipe尝cháng · to taste超过chāoguò · to surpass成为chéngwéi · to become乘坐chéngzuò · to ride (in a vehicle)

FAQs

参观 (cānguān) means “to look around” or “to tour”. It is an HSK 4 word.
Say it cānguān: cān with a 1st tone, then guān with a 1st tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 参观 is written 參觀. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type canguan with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 参观 from the suggestions. Typing canguan into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
参观 is an HSK 4 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

Turn words into conversations

A dictionary gives you the words. A native teacher shows you how to use them. Start with a free 30-minute intro call.

Book a free intro call

Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.