ih/ɪ/
Drop your jaw slightly with relaxed lips. Touch the tongue tip behind the bottom front teeth and arch the top-front toward the roof.
How to pronounce inquiry in American English
ihn·KWAHY·ree
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Americans pronounce inquiry as ihn-KWAHY-ree (/ɪnˈkwaɪri/). Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick. You'll hear it in sentences like "Thank you for your prompt response to my inquiry".
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Sound by sound
Every sound in "inquiry".
3 syllables, 7 sounds. Tap a syllable to jump to its row, then explore each sound's mouth shape and how it's made.
n/n/
Touch the tip or front edge of your tongue to the roof of your mouth behind your teeth. Air flows through your nose.
k/k/
Raise the back of your tongue to touch the soft palate (velum). Stop the air, then release.
w/w/
Round your lips into a tight circle. Lift the back of your tongue toward the soft palate and add voice.
ahy/aɪ/
Start with your jaw open wide and your tongue resting low and flat. Glide the front of your tongue up toward the roof of your mouth as your jaw closes halfway.
r/r/
Curl or bunch your tongue without letting the tip touch the roof of your mouth. Brace the sides of your tongue against your upper back teeth, and round your lips slightly.
ee/i/
Pull the corners of your lips back slightly. Arch the middle-front of your tongue high toward the roof of the mouth.
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Watch out
Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.
The textbook way isn't wrong — it's just not how anyone actually says it.
01
Stressing the wrong syllable.
Stress falls on the second syllable, not the others. Stretch KWAHY — keep everything else short and quick.
IHN·kwahy·REE→ihn·KWAHY·ree
Questions
Questions people ask about this.
How is "inquiry" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the second syllable — say "KWAHY" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "ihn-KWAHY-ree" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Is the American pronunciation of "inquiry" different from British English?
American English uses different vowel shapes, a relaxed retroflex R, and connected-speech tricks like flap-T and glottal-stop T that British Received Pronunciation generally avoids. The respell "ihn-KWAHY-ree" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.
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