Pronunciation

How to pronounce “enquiry

“enquiry” is pronounced /ɪnˈkwaɪɚi/ (in-KWY-ur-ee) in American English and /ɪnˈkwaɪəɹi/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “kwaɪ”.
The sound

Say “enquiry” in 4 beats

Say it like this

enquiry

/ɪnˈkwaɪɚi/

The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /ɪnˈkwaɪəɹi/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.

4 beats
  1. ɪnɪn
  2. kwaɪkwaɪstress
  3. ɚɚ
  4. ii
IPA (American)
/ɪnˈkwaɪɚi/
IPA (British)
/ɪnˈkwaɪəɹi/
Respelling
in-KWY-ur-ee
Syllables
4 — ɪn-KWAꞮ-ɚ-i
Stress
Stress the second syllable: ɪn-KWAꞮ-ɚ-i. “kwaɪ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
noun
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈɪnkwɪɹi/

American English prefers the spelling inquiry and often stresses the first syllable.

British

/ɪnˈkwaɪəɹi/

No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.

Watch out

Where “enquiry” goes wrong

  • Often heard

    EN-kwi-ree

    in British usage the stress falls on the second syllable: in-KWY-ree

Meaning

What “enquiry” means

  1. noun

    an instance of questioning

    there was a question about my training

  2. noun

    a search for knowledge

    their pottery deserves more research than it has received

  3. noun

    a systematic investigation of a matter of public interest

Say it in a sentence

We received one enquiry about the cottage before lunch.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

7 sounds, in the order you say them

Each sound has its own page: where the tongue goes, what it is usually confused with, and words to drill it on.

Questions

enquiry”, answered

How do you pronounce “enquiry”?

“enquiry” is pronounced /ɪnˈkwaɪɚi/ (in-KWY-ur-ee) in American English and /ɪnˈkwaɪəɹi/ in British English — 4 syllables, stressed on “kwaɪ”. Build it as ɪn-KWAꞮ-ɚ-i, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “enquiry” have?

4: ɪn · kwaɪ · ɚ · i. The beat lands on the second, “kwaɪ”.

Is “enquiry” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ɪnˈkwaɪɚi/ (in-KWY-ur-ee); British English says /ɪnˈkwaɪəɹi/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “enquiry” mean?

As a noun: an instance of questioning For example: “there was a question about my training” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “enquiry”?

Stress the second syllable: ɪn-KWAꞮ-ɚ-i. “kwaɪ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “enquiry” and see every sound

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