Whats the rule that makes "please" pronounced the same as "pleas"?
Last Updated: 27.06.2025 01:24
Back in the day (circa 1300), it was written <plesen>.
What's (not “whats”) the rule?
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.
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.
Pleas is spelled <pleas> because it's the plural of pleas.
Please is an anglicization of the French word plaisir.
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.