PLEZH-ur
/ˈplɛʒɚ/
pleasure is pronounced PLEZH-ur (/ˈplɛʒɚ/). Pleasure refers to a feeling of happiness, enjoyment, or satisfaction derived from someone or something. It can also describe a source of delight, or an experience that gives comfort, gratification, or sensory joy. In everyday use, it often signals a positive, pleasurable emotion or a polite expression of gratitude or approval.
Pleasure refers to a feeling of happiness, enjoyment, or satisfaction derived from someone or something. It can also describe a source of delight, or an experience that gives comfort, gratification, or sensory joy. In everyday use, it often signals a positive, pleasurable emotion or a polite expression of gratitude or approval.
- Ensure the middle /ʒ/ is voiced and properly placed between /l/ and the final vowel. Many learners insert an extra vowel after /ʒ/, producing /ˈplɛdʒər/ or /ˈpleɪʒər/. The tongue should not reach a /d/ or /t/ stop; maintain continuous airflow to produce /ʒ/. - The final /ər/ or /ə/ can be reduced; avoid pronouncing as a hard /ɚ/ with strong r-coloring in non-rhotic accents. If your stress collapses, you may say /ˈplɛnʃər/ or /ˈplɛbrər/ instead of /ˈpleʒər/. - Keep the first syllable crisp: /plɛ/ not /pleɪ/ or /ple/. Practice with slow pace then speed up to ensure smooth transition into /ʒ/.
"It gave me great pleasure to meet you."
"She took pleasure in the warm sunshine and the quiet day."
"The movie was a real pleasure to watch from start to finish."
Pronounce as /ˈpleʒər/ in US and /ˈpleʒ.ə/ in many UK varieties. Start with a stressed 'ple' as in 'play' but with a short ɛ vowel: /plɛ/. The second syllable begins with the voiced postalveolar fricative /ʒ/ (like the 's' in 'measure') followed by a weak schwa /ər/ or /ə/. The overall rhythm is TROCH with primary stress on the first syllable. Practice with 'pleasure' sounding like 'PLÉ-zhər' (US) or 'PLÉ-zhə' (UK) and blend the /ʒ/ sound firmly into the middle. Audio references: Cambridge and Forvo entries for /ˈpleʒər/.
Two frequent errors: (1) Over-articulating the second syllable by saying 'plea-sure' with a clear �s related to 'sure' instead of the /ʒ/ sound; (2) Mispronouncing the /ʒ/ as /ʃ/ or /z/ which makes it sound like 'pleash-er' or 'plee-zher'. Correction: keep the /ʒ/ sound steady in the middle, not a hissing /ʃ/. Reduce the second syllable to a reduced /ə/ or /ər/ depending on accent. Emphasize the first syllable with a crisp /pl/ onset and ensure the /ʒ/ is voiced and mid, not lip-closed. Practicing with minimal pairs helps fix the middle fricative.
In General American, you’ll hear /ˈpleʒər/ with rhotic /ɚ/ in the second syllable; the /ə/ may reduce to a schwa in faster speech. In Received Pronunciation, it’s often /ˈpleʒ.ə/, with a lighter, non-rhotic ending; the second syllable becomes a schwa or a near-silent /ə/. Australian English tends toward /ˈpleʒə/ with a slightly centralized vowel in the second syllable and a smoother /ə/. Across all, the critical element is the /ʒ/ cluster in the second position and the first-stressed syllable onset /pl/.
The difficulty centers on the /ʒ/ sound, which is relatively uncommon in English learners’ L1s. Producing a voiced postalveolar fricative with precise place of articulation—mid tongue, relaxed jaw, and unobstructed velum—can be tricky. Additionally, the 'er' or 'ə' ending can reduce differently depending on accent, which affects rhythm and linking. Practice anchoring the /ʒ/ with the preceding /pl/ and ensure your tongue tip relaxes rather than tensing into a /d/ or /t/. Mastery comes from controlled air flow and consistent, soft tongue contact.
Pleasure does not come from a standalone 'plea' root in modern use; the 'plea' in pleasure is a phonetic lead-in. The first syllable /plɛ/ aligns with the root meaning of pleasing, but it is not semantically connected to 'plea' as a request. The primary morphological element is the suffix -sure, connected historically to Latin placere through the French plaisir. In pronunciation, treat the initial 'ple' as part of a single stressed syllable rather than two separate word-like units; the important aspect is producing /pl/ onset and the /ɛ/ vocalic nucleus before the /ʒ/ fricative.
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- US: rhotic /ɚ/ in the second syllable; vowels tend to be r-colored, so /ˈpleʒɚ/ with a darker ending. - UK: non-rhotic; the ending often reduces to /ə/ (ˈpleʒə); the /ʒ/ remains central. - AU: similar to UK but with slightly more centralized vowel quality and a mild /ɜː/ for the second syllable in some speakers. - Vowel nuances: /ɛ/ in the first syllable; keep it tense but relaxed rather than a full diphthong. - Lip rounding is minimal; the /ʒ/ requires the tongue tip approximating the alveolar ridge while the blade of the tongue slightly projects upward.
Pleasure comes from the Old French plaisir, from Latin placere, meaning 'to please' or 'to satisfy'. The Latin placere is linked to placidus 'pleasant, agreeable' and to placere in the sense of 'to be pleasing'. In Middle English, pleasure referred to the act of pleasing or the sense of something pleasing; over time, it broadened to describe sensations, experiences, and emotions that give satisfaction or delight. The term has long carried both sensory and emotional dimensions, evolving from a direct act of pleasing to an internal state of gratification. In literature and philosophy, pleasure has been discussed in contrast to pain and to notions of virtue and happiness, with shifts in emphasis across eras—from hedonistic interpretations to more nuanced understandings of pleasure as a composite of sensory and cognitive satisfaction. First known written usage in English appears in the 13th century, with roots tracing through Norman influence on English vocabulary. The phonetic evolution mirrors English spelling conventions, with the stressed syllable typically on the first syllable in modern usage. The word’s pronunciation in contemporary English is marked by the initial /ˈplɛʒər/ in General American and /ˈpleʒ.ə/ in many British varieties, reflecting general reductions and vowel shifts that occurred over centuries.”,
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Words that rhyme with "pleasure"
-ure sounds
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