The term "nasal consonant" refers to a type of speech sound that is produced by allowing air to escape through the nose, rather than solely through the mouth. Some common synonyms for this term include "nasalized consonant," "nasal phoneme," and "nasal sound." Additionally, specific types of nasal consonants may be referred to by their individual names, such as "bilabial nasal" or "alveolar nasal." The use of these various terms may depend on the context in which they are being used, such as in linguistic research or in language teaching. Regardless of the terminology used, understanding the distinctions between different types of nasal consonants can be important for both language learners and speech professionals.