The spelling of the word "Couia" may seem confusing at first glance, but its pronunciation can be explained using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). The IPA transcription for Couia is /'kwiːə/. The first sound is a /k/ sound, followed by a long /w/ sound, then an /iː/ sound that is similar to the long "e" sound in English. The final sound is a schwa sound, represented in IPA as /ə/. Couia is a name of Amazonian origin for a type of muskrat.