The word "tawai" is a difficult one to spell, as it is not a common word in English. However, the IPA phonetic transcription can help make sense of its spelling. The first syllable is pronounced like "tah," with a short a sound like in "cat." The second syllable is pronounced like "way," with a long a sound like in "day." Therefore, "tawai" is spelled with a "t" and a "w" to represent the two distinct sounds of each syllable.