Enquiry vs Inquiry: What's the Difference?

Enquiry and inquiry are two spellings of the same word. Both can mean a request for information or an official investigation. Which one to use depends mainly on whether you write American or British English.

• American English: use inquiry for both meanings. Merriam-Webster lists enquiry as a "chiefly British" spelling, and Cambridge Dictionary marks it as UK.
• British English: many writers keep enquiry for a request for information and inquiry for an official investigation, but Oxford Learner's Dictionaries says "you can use either spelling in either meaning."

If you are not sure which variety your reader expects, choose inquiry. It is standard in American English and correct in British English. The verbs work the same way: inquire in the US, enquire or inquire in the UK.

Why are there two spellings? The word came into English through French, and the earliest English forms began with en-. From the fifteenth century, the Latin original inquirere pushed writers towards an in- spelling, and both forms survived (see Merriam-Webster's word history and Michael Quinion's World Wide Words).

Examples of enquiry and inquiry in sentences

Each sentence is marked with the variety of English it follows and the meaning it uses.

British English

• "Thank you for your enquiry. We will reply within two working days." (UK: a request for information)
• "The government has ordered a public inquiry into the bridge collapse." (UK: an official investigation)
• "I rang the box office to enquire about wheelchair access." (UK verb: asking for information)
• "Two men are helping police with their enquiries." (UK set phrase: being questioned about a crime without being charged)
• "Please send all press enquiries to the communications team." (UK: requests for information)
• "An independent panel will inquire into how the contract was awarded." (UK verb: investigating)

American English

• "Thank you for your inquiry. We will reply within two business days." (US: a request for information)
• "The Senate committee opened an inquiry into the agency's spending." (US: an official investigation)
• "She called the clinic to inquire about her test results." (US verb: asking for information)
• "The museum has received dozens of inquiries about the new exhibit." (US: requests for information)

The American sentences use one spelling for a customer question and a Senate investigation alike. A British writer who prefers one spelling for everything would write the British examples with inquiry too, and that is just as correct.

Enquire vs inquire: the verbs

The verbs follow the nouns. American English uses inquire for every meaning. In British English, many writers use enquire for asking for information and inquire for officially investigating, though Oxford's entry for enquire again says either spelling can be used in either meaning.

Both verbs are more formal than ask. Oxford labels them "rather formal", so they suit letters and emails better than casual talk. You might say "Can I ask how much it costs?" but write "I am writing to enquire about your prices" (or inquire, in American English).

Three patterns cover most uses:

• enquire or inquire about something: ask for information. "I called to inquire about the delivery date."
• inquire into something: investigate it. "A committee will inquire into the complaints." Oxford notes the British spelling enquire into as well.
• enquire or inquire after someone: ask how someone is, especially about their health. "She enquired after your mother." Oxford marks this use as formal.

The person who asks is an inquirer, or an enquirer in British spelling. Merriam-Webster groups enquire, enquirer and enquiry together as chiefly British spellings.

One slip to watch: enquires and inquires are verbs ("she enquires about prices"), while enquiries and inquiries are plural nouns ("we had three enquiries today"). Both are real words, so a basic spellchecker will not flag the swap. Read the sentence back, or run it through a grammar checker before you send it.

Set phrases with enquiry and inquiry

Some phrases have a usual spelling, or a strong regional home. Where a dictionary prints both spellings, both are given here.

• public inquiry: an official investigation into a matter of public interest. Oxford also prints "public enquiry", which shows how loose the British split is, but in the UK many of these investigations are held under the Inquiries Act 2005.
• court of inquiry, commission of inquiry, committee of inquiry: official bodies set up to investigate something. Oxford also lists "court of enquiry", "board of enquiry" and "commission of enquiry".
• line of inquiry or line of enquiry: one direction an investigation follows. "Police are following several lines of inquiry." Cambridge lists both spellings.
• helping police with their enquiries (UK): being questioned about a crime without having been charged, as Oxford defines it.
• enquiry desk, enquiries (UK): the place where you go to ask for information. Oxford lists desk, office and service as words that often follow enquiry, and gives "Ask at enquiries" as British usage.
• directory enquiries (UK): the phone service for finding someone's number. Oxford gives directory assistance as the North American term.
• letter of inquiry (US): in grant writing, the short first approach to a funder. Northwestern University describes it as "a brief, one- to three-page letter of inquiry (LOI)". A writer following the British split would call a general letter asking for information a "letter of enquiry".
• inquiry-based learning or enquiry-based learning: teaching built around students' own questions and research. British universities use both spellings: the University of Sheffield had a Centre for Inquiry-Based Learning, and the University of Manchester a Centre for Excellence in Enquiry-Based Learning.
• scientific inquiry: research into how things work. Merriam-Webster's third sense of inquiry is "examination into facts or principles".

What about Canada, Australia and other English?

Dictionaries say less about other varieties, so this section sticks to what the sources state.

• Canada: Oxford Learner's Dictionaries gives inquiry as the North American spelling, and Canada's federal law on public investigations is the Inquiries Act. The lexicographer Michael Quinion describes Canadian English as "split between American and British styles, though tending towards the former." Inquiry is the safer choice.
• Australia: Quinion writes that Australian English "stands in much the same position as British English", so expect the same enquiry and inquiry split. The Australian Writers' Centre reports that the Macquarie Dictionary defines the word under the i spelling and accepts the two forms as interchangeable, and that the Fairfax style guide uses only the i forms.
• House styles: a publisher's or employer's style guide beats the general pattern. The Guardian and Observer style guide, for example, simply says "use inquiry" under enquiry, even though it is a British paper.

The sources also disagree on how common each spelling is. Grammarist says inquire is the more common form across the English-speaking world, and that the British split shows mainly in carefully written British texts. Quinion, writing in 2005, said the two forms had run "roughly in equal frequencies" in British English. The practical advice is the same either way: inquiry is correct everywhere, and enquiry is correct in British-style English.

The dictionary and style-guide entries quoted on this page were checked on October 26, 2026.

Related: see the full Grammar & Word Choice guide for more confused-word and punctuation explainers, including when to use a comma before which, where and who and whether you can start a sentence with "however".