参考 (cān kǎo) — consultation in Mandarin
🔊 Tap to hear it
#1463 most common word · HSK 5 · CEFR B2
Pinyin colour key: tone 1 (high flat), tone 2 (rising), tone 3 (dipping), tone 4 (falling), neutral.
Tone breakdown
参考 is pronounced cān kǎo. Tap any syllable’s row to hear the whole word.
In a sentence
zhe fen wen xian ke yi zuo wei ni lun wen de can kao.
This document can serve as a reference for your thesis.
Hear it, then say it right
Reading pinyin only gets you halfway. ToneDeck plays native audio for 参考 and thousands more words, then scores your pronunciation so your tones land. HSK 1 is free, no install.
Start freeFrequently asked questions
What does 参考 mean?+
参考 (cān kǎo) means "consultation" in Mandarin Chinese.
How do you pronounce 参考?+
参考 is pronounced cān kǎo. It uses the tone 1 (high flat), then the tone 3 (rising/dipping). Tap the character on this page to hear native audio.
How common is 参考 in Mandarin?+
参考 is the #1463 most frequent word in spoken Mandarin, so it is one of the first words worth learning.
Where 参考 fits
Every HSK 5 word with tone-coloured pinyin and audio.
Words at a similar frequency
Master the tones first
What each tone sounds like and why it matters.
Why some tones change in connected speech.
Now on iPhone · Android coming soon
ToneDeck is on the App Store. The trainer works right now.
Download ToneDeck for iPhone today, and your progress syncs across every device. Prefer the browser? The full tone trainer runs at tonedeck.app right now, no install, free to start.
Browse more on the Mandarin vocabulary hub, or read how to learn Mandarin tones.