The spelling of the word "seau" can be explained using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) phonetic transcription. In French, "seau" means "bucket" and is pronounced as /so/ with a nasal 'o' sound. The IPA transcription for "seau" is /so/, where the first symbol represents the 's' sound, and the second symbol indicates the "o" sound. The "eau" digraph in French often represents the sound "o", which is pronounced with a rounded lips shape, as in the word "beau" (/bo/).