Whats the rule that makes "please" pronounced the same as "pleas"?
Last Updated: 02.07.2025 13:03
What's (not “whats”) the rule?
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.
Words are pronounced the way that they're pronounced.
Astronauts track huge dust clouds over Canada and US | On the ISS this week June 2-6, 2025 - Space
Back in the day (circa 1300), it was written <plesen>.
There's no rule.
If you're curious about why a word is spelled the way it's spelled, your first recourse should be etymonline dot com.
Researchers claim spoof-proof random number generator breakthrough - theregister.com
Please is an anglicization of the French word plaisir.
Pleas is spelled <pleas> because it's the plural of pleas.
You'll usually find your answer there.
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.