Distinguishing Enquire from Inquire

Enquire vs Inquire

Enquire and Inquire are two words that are often confused in their usage and mistakenly interchanged. While the word inquire is used to mean ‘probe’ or ‘make a formal investigation’, enquire is used to mean ‘question’ or ‘ask’. Both words are used as verbs and have their noun forms in ‘enquiry’ and ‘inquiry’. For example, ‘police enquiry’ and ‘police inquiry’ would mean ‘police questioning’ and ‘police probe’ respectively.

Key Takeaways

• Inquire is used in the sense of ‘probe’ or ‘make a formal investigation’ and is more common in American English.
• Enquire is used in the sense of ‘question’ or ‘ask’ and is more common in British English.
• The words have their noun forms in ‘enquiry’ and ‘inquiry’, with enquire usually followed by the preposition ‘about’ and inquire often followed by the preposition ‘into’.

What does Inquire mean?

Inquire is used to mean ‘probe’ or ‘make a formal investigation’. For example:
– He inquired into the matter.
– She inquired into what happened on that day.
– The NYPD detective inquired about the murder.

In these sentences, inquire is used in the sense of ‘probe’ and is often followed by the preposition ‘into’. This is an important difference between the two words. Inquire is more commonly used in American English.

What does Enquire mean?

Enquire is used in the sense of ‘question’ or ‘ask’. For example:
– I enquired about his health.
– She enquired about my welfare.

In these sentences, enquire is used in the sense of ‘question’ or ‘ask’ and is usually followed by the preposition ‘about’. Enquire is more commonly used in British English.

What is the difference between Enquire and Inquire?

• Inquire means ‘probe’ or ‘make a formal investigation’ and is often followed by the preposition ‘into’.
• Enquire means ‘question’ or ‘ask’ and is usually followed by the preposition ‘about’.
• Inquire is more common in American English, while enquire is more common in British English.
• Inquiry and enquiry are the noun forms of inquire and enquire respectively.

These are the various differences between the two verbs, inquire and enquire.