Whats the rule that makes "please" pronounced the same as "pleas"?
13.06.2025 12:56
You'll usually find your answer there.
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.
What's (not “whats”) the rule?
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.
Words are pronounced the way that they're pronounced.
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.
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Pleas is spelled <pleas> because it's the plural of pleas.