Maissau is a town in Austria, and its spelling may seem confusing to those unfamiliar with German pronunciation. In IPA phonetic transcription, Maissau is pronounced as /maɪszaʊ/. The "ai" sound represents a long "i" sound, while the "ss" is pronounced as a sharp "s". The "au" ending is pronounced as "ow", making the whole word sound like "myss-ow". Understanding the phonetic transcription of words can help in proper pronunciation and spelling.