Greetings in Sign Language

Learn how to express greetings in sign language and ASL culture. The most common greetings in ASL are hi and hello.

Simply express "hi". It's very commonly used in everyday use.

Another way is the sign hello. A Deaf signer may sign "hello" in a formal scenario (e.g. a presenter's greeting to the audience).

The ASL sign glossed as HI doesn't always translate into English "hi" but sometimes "hello". There is a variation of intonation.

Sometimes, when a Deaf friend hasn't seen his/her dear friend for a long time, they might sign HELLO with some intonation. It's equivalent to "big hello".

For a beginner, just be familiar with these two signs. There are several variations of "hi" and "hello" that learners may observe over time at Deaf social events.

Hug greeting

A greeting hug is a common greeting exchange among Deaf friends and acquaintances in the ASL/American Deaf community where the ASL/Deaf members have been historically close-knitted or close-networked.

Deaf people don't usually exchange this greeting hug with other people outside their culture. Instead, handshaking or saying "hello" is a regular exchange.

Conversation openers

Exclusive content locked for subscribers. Please log in.