pleasure
PronouncedPLEH-zher
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
Sound“pl”·/pl/
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)
Sound“eh”·/ɛ/
Sometimes EA makes the short E sound, like in 'bread' and 'head'.
In some common words, 'ea' makes the short E sound “eh” 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 “eh” instead!
Examples
Phonics Rule: S says “zh”
Sound“zh”·/ʒ/
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
Sound“er”·/ɜːr/
When R comes after U, it makes the “er” sound, like in 'turn' and 'burn'.
UR makes the same “er” sound as ER and IR. It's the least common of the three spellings.
Tip
The nurse with fur says “er”!
Examples
Phonics Rule: Schwa
Sound“uh”·/ə/
In unstressed syllables, vowels often make a lazy 'uh' sound called schwa, like the A in 'about'.
Schwa “uh” 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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