Whats the rule that makes "please" pronounced the same as "pleas"?
Last Updated: 23.06.2025 00:08
What's (not “whats”) the rule?
Back in the day (circa 1300), it was written <plesen>.
There's no 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.
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.
You'll usually find your answer there.
Pleas is spelled <pleas> because it's the plural of pleas.
If you're curious about why a word is spelled the way it's spelled, your first recourse should be etymonline dot com.