The spelling of the word "not clashes" can be explained using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). The first sound in "not" is /n/, which is a nasal consonant. The second sound is the short vowel sound pronounced as /ɒ/ in Received Pronunciation. The word "clashes" starts with the voiceless velar stop consonant /k/ followed by the long vowel sound /æ/ and ends with the voiced postalveolar fricative /ʒ/. When combined, the two words create a phrase that can be spelled as "not ˈklæʃɪz" in IPA.