ALONE in sign language

ASL sign for ALONE — Printable

ASL sign for ALONE

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

Definition: Having no one else present; on one's own.

Pronunciation (sign description): Dominant upright index finger held in neutral space moves in small circular motion.

This sign may be spatially inflected in agreement with the pronoun in an ASL sentence.

Q: I am wondering if there is a difference between the signs for "something", "always" and "alone". "Alone" seems to have a smaller hand motion, but the signs for "something" and "always" seem identical. Are they? Or am I missing some sort of subtle difference?

Subtle differences, sometimes inflections, and mostly contexts. Read about homonyms in sign language.

Vocabulary

Related signs: SINGLE, LONE, SOLITARY, SOLO.

Phrases

leave alone:

Meaning (leave alone): to allow (someone) to be by himself or herself; to refrain from annoying or interfering with.

This verb may be inflected in agreement with the pronouns.

Meaning: "Leave me alone." The palm orientation and direction in this video is different from the other.

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