Which to use
“enquiry” and “inquiry” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,903
- “enquiry” frequency rank
- #4,681
- “inquiry” frequency rank
- 21584
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | enquiry | inquiry |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | British form of inquiry. | The act of inquiring; a seeking of information by asking questions; interrogation; a question or questioning. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set enquiry and inquiry apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
This is the hard kind. enquiry and inquiry are pronounced identically (/ɪnˈkwaɪə.ɹi/) and both work as anoun. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by a single letter - e in “enquiry” becomes i in “inquiry”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21584, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
enquiry is recorded at frequency rank #16,903, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɪnˈkwaɪə.ɹi/. inquiry is at rank #4,681, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɪnˈkwaɪəɹi/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 21584, this pair ranks #422,833 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of enquiry vs inquiry
Shared letters: inqruy. Private to "enquiry": e. Private to "inquiry": -.
"enquiry" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVCV · "inquiry" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "enquiry" and "inquiry" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "enquiry" or "inquiry"?
Remembering enquiry vs inquiry
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “enquiry” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable