Whats the rule that makes "please" pronounced the same as "pleas"?
Last Updated: 23.06.2025 13:54
You'll usually find your answer there.
There's no rule.
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.
Please is an anglicization of the French word plaisir.
Back in the day (circa 1300), it was written <plesen>.
If you're curious about why a word is spelled the way it's spelled, your first recourse should be etymonline dot com.
Write something which is just the opposite of you.
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.
What's (not “whats”) the rule?
Pleas is spelled <pleas> because it's the plural of pleas.
What would you do if you found out that someone had broken into your home while you were sleeping?
Words are pronounced the way that they're pronounced.