Whats the rule that makes "please" pronounced the same as "pleas"?
Last Updated: 26.06.2025 05:15
What's (not “whats”) the rule?
There's no rule.
Words are pronounced the way that they're pronounced.
Why is my crush beautiful to me but not to others?
Back in the day (circa 1300), it was written <plesen>.
While you may reasonably ask why words are spelled the way they're spelled, it makes no sense to ask why they're pronounced the way they're pronounced.
If you're curious about why a word is spelled the way it's spelled, your first recourse should be etymonline dot com.
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Whence the <ea> I cannot say but some other words that were spelled <ai> in French are spelled <ea> in English: aise → ease, graisse → grease, fait → feat.
Pleas is spelled <pleas> because it's the plural of pleas.
You'll usually find your answer there.
Please is an anglicization of the French word plaisir.