Phonetic means relating to the sounds of spoken language. When you write something phonetically, you spell it the way it sounds rather than using standard spelling. For instance, you might write “nite” instead of “night” or “luv” instead of “love.”

The English language can be tricky because words aren't always spelled the way they sound. Think about “though,” “through,” and “tough.” They look similar but sound completely different. A phonetic spelling system would make the connection between sounds and letters more consistent and predictable.

Teachers sometimes use phonetic approaches when helping young students learn to read, encouraging them to sound out words letter by letter. Scientists who study language use special phonetic alphabets with unique symbols for every possible sound humans can make, so they can write down exactly how any word in any language is pronounced.

When someone says “spell it phonetically,” they mean to write it exactly as you hear it, which can help when you're trying to figure out an unfamiliar word or explain a pronunciation to someone else.