# nasal

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˈneɪ.zəl/ · frequency rank #15,227

## Definitions
1. Of or pertaining to the nose or to the nasion.
2. Having a sound imparted by means of the nose; and specifically, made by lowering the soft palate, in some cases with closure of the oral passage, the voice thus issuing (wholly or partially) through the nose, as in the consonants m, n, ng.
3. Characterized by resonance in the nasal passage.
4. Sharp, penetrating.

## Etymology
From Middle English, from Medieval Latin nāsālis, from nāsus (“the nose”) + -ālis (“-al”, adjectival suffix). Doublet of nasalis.

## Easily confused with
- **NSA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nasal-vs-nsa)
- **Nash** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nasal-vs-nash)
- **Neal** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nasal-vs-neal)
- **nasi** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nasal-vs-nasi)
- **Nasr** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nasal-vs-nasr)
- **naval** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nasal-vs-naval)
- **nasty** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nasal-vs-nasty)
- **Nepal** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nasal-vs-nepal)
- **natal** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nasal-vs-natal)
- **Nawaz** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nasal-vs-nawaz)
- **navel** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nasal-vs-navel)
- **Nasir** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nasal-vs-nasir)
- **Navas** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nasal-vs-navas)
- **Nat'l** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nasal-vs-nat-l)
- **nawab** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nasal-vs-nawab)
- **NASCAR** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nasal-vs-nascar)
- **NASDAQ** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nasal-vs-nasdaq)
- **Nassau** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nasal-vs-nassau)
- **NAS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nas-vs-nasal)
- **NAA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/naa-vs-nasal)

## Common misspellings (7)
`ansal`, `naasl`, `nasall`, `nasla`, `nassal`, `nnasal`, `nsaal`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/nasal