LIVE in sign language

"How do you sign "live", "alive" in American Sign Language?" The ASL verb may convey a different gradient of meaning when the movement is modified.

ASL signs for "live"

There are two common versions which are interchangeable in most contexts.

Meaning: remain alive; make one's home in a particular place or with a particular person.

Pronunciation (sign description): Both "10" hands with palms in contact with lower chest move upward along the chest.

Variation (sign description): Both horizontal "L" hands with palms in contact with lower chest move upward along the chest.

Usage examples: "Where do you live?" [ASL glossed as "YOU LIVE WHERE\/"], "it makes no difference whether he's dead or alive".

ASL signs for "alive"

There are two phonological versions for "alive".

Pronunciation (sign description): The movement consists of brief and short repetitive movements, which implies alive.

Phonological variation.

Usage examples: "it's still alive!", "No, at age 87, he's currently still alive".

When not to use these ASL signs in English sentences with "alive" in them: "the town will be alive with tourists during the tourist peak" and such. Meanings of words are not always translated word for word from one language to another.

Vocabulary

Related signs: RESIDE, DWELL, INHABIT, STAY, SOJOURN.

Usage/Grammar

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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.