inquire
in·quire/ɪnˈkwaɪɹ/verb
inquire is spelled I-N-Q-U-I-R-E: 7 letters and 2 syllables (in·quire). It appears 2.4 times per million words in written English, the 17,587th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “enquire vs inquire” about 18,100 times a month (Google, United States). As a verb, inquire means “To ask (about something)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in inquire?
| Letters | 7: I-N-Q-U-I-R-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: in·quire |
| In writing | 2.4 times per million words; the 17,587th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is inquire?
Inquire appears 2.4 times per million words in written English, the 17,587th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce inquire?
- UK /ɪnˈkwaɪə/
- UK /ɪŋˈkwaɪə/
- US /ɪnˈkwaɪɹ/
Inquire has 2 syllables, split in·quire in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-inquire.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with inquire
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Also written: enquire.
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with inquire?
11 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as inquire from its last stressed vowel (/aɪɹ/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of inquire
- inquires present, singular, he/she/it
- inquiring participle, present
- inquired participle, past
- enquire UK
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does inquire mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
AustraliaCanadaUSTo ask (about something).
May I inquire to whom I have the honor of speaking?
- 2
To make an inquiry or an investigation.
Police are already inquiring into the incident.
- 3
obsoleteTo call; to name.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Inquire in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | enquêter, se renseigner |
| German | sich erkundigen, nachfragen, inquirieren , nachforschen |
| Portuguese | inquirir |
| Spanish | investigar, informarse, inquirir, inquerir (disused) , consultar, preguntar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does inquire come from?
From Latin inquīrō (“to seek for”), composed of in- (“in, at, on; into”) + quaerō (“to seek, look for”), of uncertain origin, but possibly from Proto-Italic *kʷaizeō, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷeh₂- (“to acquire”). Displaced Middle English enqueren (from Old French enquerre, of the same source) and native Middle English speir (“ask, inquire”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).