pleasure
nounA happy feeling you get when something is nice or enjoyable.
nounSomething that makes you happy or that you enjoy doing.
verbTo make someone feel happy or pleased.
Syllables
2 syllables
Letters
Phonics breakdown
Phonics Rule: PL Blend
P and L blend together — you hear both sounds! Like in 'play' and 'plan'.
The blend PL combines /p/ and /l/ spoken quickly together.
Examples
Phonics Rule: EA Vowel Team (Short E)
Sometimes EA makes the short E sound, like in 'bread' and 'head'.
In some common words, 'ea' makes the short E sound /ɛ/ instead of the expected long E. These words need to be memorized since there's no reliable rule to predict when EA says short E.
Tip
Bread, head, dead — EA says /ɛ/ instead!
Examples
Phonics Rule: S says /zh/
Between a vowel and U or URE, S can say /zh/ — the sound in the middle of 'measure' and 'usual'.
The /zh/ sound is soft and buzzing, like the middle of 'measure', 'treasure', 'pleasure', 'usual', and 'vision'. It often comes from an S before U or URE. It is the voiced partner of /sh/.
Tip
S buzzes to /zh/ — it's a pleasure to measure!
Examples
Phonics Rule: R-Controlled UR
When R comes after U, it makes the /ɜːr/ sound, like in 'turn' and 'burn'.
UR makes the same /ɜːr/ sound as ER and IR. It's the least common of the three spellings.
Tip
The nurse with fur says /ɜːr/!
Examples
Phonics Rule: Schwa
In unstressed syllables, vowels often make a lazy 'uh' sound called schwa, like the A in 'about'.
Schwa /ə/ is the most common vowel sound in English. Any vowel letter can make the schwa sound when it's in an unstressed syllable. It sounds like a quick, lazy 'uh'.
Tip
Schwa is lazy — any vowel can say 'uh' when it's not stressed!
Examples
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