Hippophaine is a word that refers to a drug used for veterinary purposes. The spelling of the word is informed by the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) which represents the sounds of the word in a systematic manner. In IPA, "hippo" is spelled /ˈhɪpəʊ/ and "phaine" is spelled /feɪn/. When combined, the word is spelled /ˌhɪpəʊˈfeɪn/. The pronunciation of the word is crucial in spelling it correctly and the IPA provides a useful tool to ensure proper pronunciation.