Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary
[edit] English
Wikipedia
[edit] Pronunciation
[edit] Etymology 1
Middle English plesen, plaisen from Old French plaisir from Latin placēre (“‘to please, to seem good’”).[1] Displaced native Middle English quemen, queamen "to please" (from Old English cwēman "to please"), Middle English biluvien "to please, delight" (from Middle English bi-, be- + luvien "to love"), Middle English liken "to like, please" (from Old English līcian "to please, be like"), Middle English lusten, listen "to be pleasing, delight" (from Old English lystan "to please").
to please (third-person singular simple present pleases, present participle pleasing, simple past and past participle pleased)
- (transitive) To make happy or satisfy; to give pleasure.
- Her presentation pleased the executives.
- (intransitive, ergative) To desire; to will; to be pleased.
- Just do as you please.
[edit] Synonyms
[edit] Antonyms
[edit] Related terms
[edit] Translations
to make happy or satisfy
- American Sign Language: OpenB@Chest-PalmBack RoundSurface
- Arabic: رضى (raɖá:)
- Catalan: plaure, complaure, agradar
- Chinese: 討好 (tǎohǎo)
- Croatian: zadovoljiti hr(hr), ugoditi hr(hr)
- Czech: potěšit, udělat radost, uspokojit, vyhovět, pokládat za vhodné
- Dutch: bevallen (satisfy), behagen (give pleasure)
- Esperanto: plaĉi eo(eo)
- Fijian: yalo vinaka
- Finnish: viihdyttää fi(fi), miellyttää fi(fi)
- French: plaire fr(fr)
- German: gefallen, rechtmachen
- Greek: ευχαριστώ (efkharisto), τέρπω (terpo), δίνω ευχαρίστηση (dino efkharistisi)
- Italian: accontentare it(it), piacere it(it)
- Japanese: お願い (onegai), 喜ばす (yorokobásu)
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- Korean: 기쁘게 하다 (gibbeuge hada)
- Macedonian: задоволува mk(mk) (zadovóluva), допаѓа mk(mk) (dópaǵa), бендисува mk(mk) (bendísuva)
- Nahuatl: yolceuiz
- Norwegian: å behage, være til lags, tiltale (?)
- Polish: uszczęśliwiać
- Portuguese: agradar pt(pt)
- Romanian: a mulţumi, a satisface, a incânta
- Russian: нравиться, понравиться (nrávit’s’a, ponrávit’s’a)
- Scottish Gaelic: còrd ri
- Serbian: zadovoljiti, ugoditi
- Slovene: zadovoljiti prositi
- Spanish: gustar es(es), agradar es(es)
- Swedish: behaga sv(sv)
- Vietnamese: làm ơn vi(vi)
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[edit] Etymology 2
Short for if you please, an intransitive, ergative form taken from if it pleases you.[1][2]
[edit] Alternative forms
- (for the exaggerated way it is often pronounced) puh-lease
[edit] Adverb
please (not comparable)
- Used to make a polite request.
- Please, pass the bread.
- Would you please sign this form?
- Could you tell me the time, please?
- Used as an affirmative to an offer.
- -May I help you? -Please.
- An expression of annoyance or impatience.
- Oh, please, do we have to hear that again?
[edit] Translations
interjection to make commands more polite
- Afrikaans: asseblief af(af)
- Aleut: puzaalusti
- American Sign Language: OpenB@Chest-PalmBack RoundSurface
- Arabic: من فضلك ar(ar) (min fáDlak (to a male), min fáDlik (to a female)), رجاءً ar(ar) (rajaa'an)
- Belarusian: калі ласка be(be) (kalí láska)
- Breton: mar plij
- Bulgarian: моля bg(bg) (mólja)
- Catalan: si us plau
- Chinese:
- Cantonese: 請, 请 (cing2) (in formal writing), 唔該 (m4 goi1) (vernacular)
- Mandarin: 請 cmn(cmn), 请 cmn(cmn) (qǐng) (always in front a verb); 拜托 cmn(cmn) (bàituō)
- Croatian: molim
- Czech: prosím cs(cs)
- Danish: vær så venlig
- Dutch: alstublieft (polite), alsjeblieft (casual), a.u.b.
- Flemish: alstublieft (polite & casual)
- Esperanto: bonvolu eo(eo)
- Fijian: yalo vinaka
- Finnish: olkaa hyvä fi(fi)
- French: s'il vous plaît fr(fr) (formal), s'il te plaît fr(fr) (informal), S.V.P. fr(fr)
- Georgian: თუ შეიძლება ka(ka)
- German: bitte de(de), bitte schön de(de), bitte sehr de(de)
- Greek: παρακαλώ el(el) (parakaló), μου κάνεις την χάρη να... (mu kanis ti khari na...)
- Hebrew: בבקשה he(he) (bevakasha)
- Hungarian: kérem, legyen szíves, légy szíves
- Indonesian: minta tolong id(id)
- Irish: le do thoil ga(ga), más é do thoil é ga(ga)
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- Italian: per favore it(it), per piacere it(it) (less formal)
- Japanese: (after a verb (-te)) ...ください ja(ja) (...kudasái), どうぞ ja(ja) (dōzo), お願いします ja(ja) (o-negai-shimasu)
- Korean: 제발 (jebal)
- Kurdish:
- Sorani: بێ زهحمهت ku(ku) (bae zaHmat)
- Latin: amābō te la(la)
- Lithuanian: prašau lt(lt)
- Macedonian: молам mk(mk) (mólam)
- Malay: sila ms(ms)
- Navajo: t'áá shǫǫdí
- Norwegian: vær så snill no(no)
- Palauan: adang
- Persian: لطفاً fa(fa) (lotfan)
- Polish: proszę pl(pl)
- Portuguese: por favor pt(pt), faça favor pt(pt)
- Romanian: vă rog (singular and plural formal, plural familiar), te rog (singular familiar)
- Russian: пожалуйста ru(ru) (požálujsta) (read: požálusta)
- Scottish Gaelic: le do thoil (s., informal), le ur toil (pl., formal), ma 's e do thoil e (s., informal), ma 's e ur toil e (pl., formal)
- Serbian: молим (lepo)
- Slovak: prosím, nech sa páči
- Spanish: por favor, favor de
- Swedish: tack, snälla, var så god, vänligen
- Tamil: தயவு செய்து (dayavu seithu)
- Turkish: lütfen tr(tr)
- Ukrainian: прошу uk(uk) (prošú), будь ласка uk(uk) (bud' láska)
- Vietnamese: làm ơn, xin
- Welsh: os gwelwch yn dda
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expression of annoyance or impatience
[edit] Derived terms
[edit] Etymology 3
A calque of German bitte (“‘excuse me’”).[3]
[edit] Interjection
please
- (Cincinnati, OH, US) Said as a request to repeat information; excuse me.[3][4]
[edit] Anagrams
[edit] References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 “please” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, v1.0.1, Lexico Publishing Group, 2006.
- ^ “please” in the Online Etymology Dictionary, Douglas Harper, 2001
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 CityBeat. September 16, 1999.
- ^ CityBeat. September 16, 1999.
