40 ASL Handshapes
"A" - Examples: with, aunt, sweetheart
"Open A"- Examples: girl, not, which, remember, tomorrow,
yesterday
"Flattened O" - Examples: home, eat, boy, number, buy, store
"R" - Examples: restroom, rules, ready
"S" - Examples: yes, motorcycle, car, bike, coffee, make
"B" - Examples: daughter, son, blue, brown, door
"T" - Examples: team, toilet,
"Open B" or "Closed 5" - Examples: please, paper, nice, school,
thank you
"U" - Examples: cute, uncle, university
"Bent B" or "Bent Closed 5" - Examples: know, near, how,
have, excuse me
"V" - Examples: stuck, see, stand, eye contact
"Bent V" - Examples: stairs, ride-in, travel
"C" - Examples: cousin, class, marry, wife, husband, chocolate
"W" - Examples: weird, world, water
"D" - Examples: dorm, divorce, date, department
"X" - Examples: hearing aid, apple, friend, facial expression, key
"E" - Examples: elevator, elementary school, educate
"Y" - Examples: silly, oh-I-see, same, cow, waddle, New York,
phone
"F" - Examples: France, cat, family, tea
"Open F" - Examples: meat/steak, big-eyes
"G" - Examples: peabrain!, green, mustache
"L-I" or “ILY” - Examples: I love you, fly
"1-I" or “long horn” - Examples: tent/camping, liquor
"H" -Examples: fun, hard-of-hearing, horse, name, train
"I" - Examples: if/suppose, art/draw, institute
"1" - Examples: stars, go-to, where, black, deaf, boring, sign
language
"K" - Examples: take-care, people, two-of-us, purple
"3" - Examples: vehicle, akward
"L" - Examples: later, library, live, sister, brother
"Bent 3" - Examples: bug, radio, mischievous
"Bent L" - Examples: moon, run, camera, big
"M" - Examples: math, memorial
"N" - Examples: nurse, niece, nephew, no
"4" - Examples: line of people, talk, meeting
"5" - Examples: mom, dad, man, woman, fine, candle, what
"Bent 5" or "Claw 5" - Examples: machine, want
"O" - Examples: sunrise, none, office
"8" - Examples: hate/despise, light (as in bulb), melon
"Closed X" - Examples: perfect, write, celebrate
"25" - Examples: what's up!, feel, sick, tendency
In some ASL signs there are more than one hand shape used, or the sign might begin with one
hand shape and end with another. Pay attention to hand shape the next time you sign.