The correct spelling of the word "be tail" is actually "betel". It is a type of leaf that is commonly chewed in South and Southeast Asia. The IPA phonetic transcription of this word is /ˈbɛtəl/, which can help English language learners understand the proper pronunciation. The word is spelled with an "e" instead of an "a" to indicate that the vowel sound is a short "e" sound, rather than the long "a" sound that would be indicated by an "a".