JUMP in sign language

JUMP

Whether you jump for joy or start your car engine, the signwords for them are not the same. There are several signs for "jump in which many involve classifiers.

ASL words for "jump"

How to sign "jump" in American Sign Language:

Definition: To spring into the air from the ground by the muscular action of feet and legs; leap.

Pronunciation (sign description): Dominant "V" hand, with tips of forefinger and middle finger in contact with non-dominant palm-up flat hand, moves up and lands onto the palm.

Contexts and/or usage examples: "My toddler just had her first jump today. What a milestone!", "jumped for joy at the news" (with intonation or facial expression and a bit of the modified movement).

Plural form: to spring into the air repeatedly (e.g. skipping).

Pronunciation (sign description): Dominant "V" hand, with tips of forefinger and middle finger pointing down in contact with non-dominant palm-up flat hand, moves up and lands onto the palm twice.

Contexts and/or usage examples: "Stop jumping on the bed!"

Beyond basics

For other meanings not related to legs moving up and down, use different ASL signs/words.

Meaning: To start (a vehicle) using jumper cables.

Meaning: to pass abruptly from one idea or subject to another. E.g. "the teenager jumped backward and forward in his narrative".

Meaning: to skip over part of something on to a further point.

Meaning: to rise suddenly by a large amount. E.g. "exports jumped by 150%". See INCREASE, RISE, SOAR, SURGE.

Classifiers

Beyond the novice level, learners may learn how to use classifiers with the basic understanding of how classifiers work that they would be able to do classifiers. Here are some examples when classifiers are most likely used.

Phrases: "jump up onto the table", "jump over the fence", "jump through the hoop", "jumped twenty feet in the long jump", "the cat jumped out of a fourth-floor window"...

Related signs

Synonyms: POUNCE, HOP, LEAP, PRANCE, BOUND.

Opposite: CRAWL.

Word Play

Animated ASL written word, 2022. Experimental.

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Search Tips and Pointers

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ASL has its own grammar and structure in sentences that works differently from English. For plurals, verb inflections, word order, etc., learn grammar in the "ASL Learn" section. For search in the dictionary, use the present-time verbs and base words. If you look for "said", look up the word "say". Likewise, if you look for an adjective word, try the noun or vice versa. E.g. The ASL signs for French and France are the same. If you look for a plural word, use a singular word.