The spelling of the word "CHENKAI" can be understood through the use of the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). The first syllable "CHEN" is represented as /tʃɛn/, with the "CH" sound being a voiceless palato-alveolar affricate sound, followed by the short "e" sound and the nasal "n". The second syllable "KAI" is represented as /kaɪ/, with the long "i" sound and the unvoiced velar stop "K". Together, the phonetic transcription /tʃɛnkaɪ/ represents the spelling of the word "CHENKAI".