WORD in sign language

ASL sign for WORD

ASL sign for "word"

How to sign "word" in American Sign Language (ASL)?

Definition: A sign, character, or sound or combination of language units that has a meaning and is signed, spoken, or written; a symbol or meaning.

Pronunciation (sign description): Dominant upright "clawed-L" handshape in front of non-dominant upright index finger, both palms facing each other in neutral space, fingertips of forefinger and thumb of dominant hand tap twice on non-dominant forefinger. The dominant handshape can be somewhere between the horizontal "G" handshape and "clawed-L".

Beyond basics

Emerged in circa 2010s; used as a (pronoun-like) classifier in sentences.

Plural sign for "words".

Meaning: a big and/or hard word.

Pluralization: Dominant "Y" hand is repeated once more. Sometimes multiple with modified location and a "pp" mouth morpheme used by Deaf signers to indicate a lot of big/hard words.

Vocabulary

Other related signs: SIGN (as in signed word), CHARACTER (as in Asian writing), IDIOM, EXPRESSION, LOANWORD that one borrows a new word from another language, GLOSS that transliterates a word rather than translates it, JARGON, PHRASE, SLANG, sesquipedalian which speaks for itself, KEYWORD, PASSWORD, SYMBOL.

Words that you look up in or practice a set of words: GLOSSARY, DICTIONARY that you look up a word in a big wordbook, LEXICON, THESAURUS, TERMINOLOGY, VOCABULARY, WORDBOOK.

Words to play with or to be creative with: CROSSWORD, NONCE which is a word you invent and use only once that can be understood, WORDSMITH.

Usage/Grammar

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Written ASL

[Note: ASL writing is not an official standard. This sign language writing remains in a state of open space to allow room for experiment, evolution, and improvement.]

ASL written for WORD

Written ASL digit for "WORD" (variation).

Written ASL digits contributed by the ASLwrite community, 2018.

~~ Feeling lucky? ¯\(°_o)/¯ Random word ~~

All
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z

Search Tips and Pointers

Search/Filter: Enter a keyword in the filter/search box to see a list of available words with the "All" selection. Click on the page number if needed. Click on the blue link to look up the word. For best result, enter a partial word to see variations of the word.

Screenshot of dictionary search with notes — Screenshot of the search dictionary

Alphabetical letters: It's useful for 1) a single-letter word (such as A, B, etc.) and 2) very short words (e.g. "to", "he", etc.) to narrow down the words and pages in the list.

For best result, enter a short word in the search box, then select the alphetical letter (and page number if needed), and click on the blue link.

Screenshot of dictionary search with notes — Screenshot of the search dictionary

Don't forget to click "All" back when you search another word with a different initial letter.

If you cannot find (perhaps overlook) a word but you can still see a list of links, then keep looking until the links disappear! Sharpening your eye or maybe refine your alphabetical index skill. :)

Add a Word: This dictionary is not exhaustive; ASL signs are constantly added to the dictionary. If you don't find a word/sign, you can send your request (only if a single link doesn't show in the result).

Videos: The first video may be NOT the answer you're looking for. There are several signs for different meanings, contexts, and/or variations. Browsing all the way down to the next search box is highly recommended.

Video speed: Signing too fast in the videos? See HELP in the footer.

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.