How to pronounce “inquiry”
Say “inquiry” in 3 beats
inquiry
/ˈɪnkwɪɹi/
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.
- inɪnstress
- quirkwɪ
- yɹi
- IPA (American)
- /ˈɪnkwɪɹi/
- IPA (British)
- /ɪnˈkwaɪəɹi/
- Also accepted
- /ɪnˈkwaɪɚi/
- Also accepted
- /ɪnkwɚɹi/
- Respelling
- IN-kwuh-ree (UK in-KWY-ree)
- Syllables
- 3 — IN-quir-y
- Stress
- Stress the first syllable: IN-quir-y. “in” 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
American and British are not the same here
/ˈɪnkwɪɹi/
/ɪnˈkwaɪəɹi/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
Also accepted
/ɪnˈkwaɪɚi/Where “inquiry” goes wrong
- Often heard
“always IN-kwi-ree”
American English stresses the first syllable; British English stresses the second
What “inquiry” means
- noun
a search for knowledge
“their pottery deserves more research than it has received”
- noun
an instance of questioning
“there was a question about my training”
- noun
a systematic investigation of a matter of public interest
Say it in a sentence
“The council opened an inquiry into the cost of the new bridge.”“inquiry”, answered
How do you pronounce “inquiry”?
“inquiry” is pronounced /ˈɪnkwɪɹi/ (IN-kwuh-ree (UK in-KWY-ree)) in American English and /ɪnˈkwaɪəɹi/ in British English, and /ɪnˈkwaɪɚi/ and /ɪnkwɚɹi/ are also accepted — 3 syllables, stressed on “in”. Build it as IN-quir-y, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “inquiry” have?
3: in · quir · y. The beat lands on the first, “in”.
Is “inquiry” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ˈɪnkwɪɹi/ (IN-kwuh-ree (UK in-KWY-ree)); British English says /ɪnˈkwaɪəɹi/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “inquiry” mean?
As a noun: a search for knowledge For example: “their pottery deserves more research than it has received” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “inquiry”?
Stress the first syllable: IN-quir-y. “in” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “inquiry” and see every sound
Record it once and sayit lines your audio up against the target sound by sound — what landed, what slipped, and what it sounded like instead.