please

/pliːz/

//pliːz// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"please" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“please” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #208. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#208
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
19
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To make happy or satisfy; to give pleasure to.

Corpus desk

Index EN-please · please · English

please · rank #208 · 8 variants · 19 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #208
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 19 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH might

Nearest frequency peer: might (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “please”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “please” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

please vs plebs
67% similar
please vs pledge
67% similar
please vs pleased
86% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for please
PropertyValue
Headwordplease
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/pliːz/
Letters6
Frequency rank#208
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs19
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “please”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).pleaselands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “might” (#207), “put” (#209), “keep” (#206). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “please” is #208. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around please (IPA /pliːz/), averb. Corpus frequency is #208 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for please, with forms such as "lpease", "pelase", and "plaese". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 19 confusable-pair relationships, "plebs", "pledge", "pleased", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English plesen, plaisen, borrowed from Old French plaise, conjugated form of plaisir or plaire, from Latin placeō (“to please, to seem good”), from the Proto-Indo-European *pleHk- (“pleasingness, permission”). In this sense, displaced native Old… The correct English form is please, spelled P-L-E-A-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To make happy or satisfy; to give pleasure to.
  2. 2
    To desire; to will; to be pleased by.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how please appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Her presentation pleased the executives.
  2. I'm pleased to see you've been behaving yourself.

Etymology

From Middle English plesen, plaisen, borrowed from Old French plaise, conjugated form of plaisir or plaire, from Latin placeō (“to please, to seem good”), from the Proto-Indo-European *pleHk- (“pleasingness, permission”). In this sense, displaced native Old English līcian, whence Modern English like.

This word in other languages

gustar(Español)plaire(Français)gefallen(Deutsch)agradar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • lpease
  • pelase
  • plaese
  • pleaes
  • pleasse
  • plesae
  • pllease
  • pplease

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of please - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

lpease2pelase2plaese2pleaes2pleasse1plesae2pllease1pplease1
Edit distance from "please"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "please"?
"please" is spelled P-L-E-A-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is /pliːz/.
What does "please" mean?
As a verb, "please" means: To make happy or satisfy; to give pleasure to.
What words are commonly confused with "please"?
"please" is commonly confused with "plebs", "pledge", "pleased". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "please"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "please" is /pliːz/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "please"?
From Middle English plesen, plaisen, borrowed from Old French plaise, conjugated form of plaisir or plaire, from Latin placeō (“to please, to seem good”), from the Proto-Indo-European *pleHk- (“pleasingness, permission”). In this sense, displaced ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "please", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

family#205second#212number#216didn't#195

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

might8 variantsnight8 variantsthing8 variantsaround8 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list