HELLO in sign language

"Hello everyone! Welcome to ASL 101! I'm [name sign] [fingerspelling a Deaf instructor's name]. Today we will cover..." via an interpreter. The ASL word "hello" is probably the first word you see on your first day of ASL classes.

ASL sign for HELLO
Hello! How do you sign for "hello"? Read on!

ASL signs for "hello"

There are variants of HELLO in American Sign Language that Deaf signers use. See a few examples below.

Meaning: Used as a greeting or to begin a telephone conversation.

Pronunciation (sign description): Dominant flat hand with the palm facing outward in contact with the uppser side of head moves away from the headside. Thumb may be inside on the palm or open. Facial expression reflects your tone, usually with a pleasant look. Who would say 'hello' a deadpan tone? :)

This signword is the base. However, out in the real world, you will see variations to convey some phrases.

Meaning: HELLO EVERYONE (or ALL OF YOU). [Video contributed by Greg Eyben, 2016.]

Meaning: HELLO in a plural form. [Video contributed by LaDonna Snyder, 2017.]

It can be used as another variant for "HELLO EVERYONE" in some contexts or as a big greeting "MANY or BIG HELLOs!" in other contexts.

Vocabulary

Related signs: The greeting HI is also a very common usage. The interjection HEY is commonly used to get a Deaf person's attention.

Now it's time to say GOOD-BYE.

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First 100 words.

  1. again
  2. also
  3. ask
  4. bad
  5. boy
  6. but
  7. can
  8. come
  9. deaf
  10. different
  11. drink
  12. drive
  13. eat
  14. email
  15. excuse
  16. family
  17. feel
  18. few
  19. find
  20. fine
  21. fingerspell
  22. finish
  23. food
  24. for
  25. forget
  26. friend
  27. get
  28. girl
  29. give
  30. go
  31. good
  32. have, has, had
  33. he
  34. hearing
  35. hello
  36. help
  37. home
  38. how
  39. Internet
  40. know
  41. later
  42. like (feeling)
  43. little
  44. live
  45. man
  46. many
  47. me
  48. meet
  49. more
  50. my
  51. name
  52. need
  53. new
  54. no
  55. not
  56. now
  57. ok, okay
  58. old
  59. other
  60. please
  61. remember
  62. same
  63. say
  64. school
  65. see
  66. she
  67. should
  68. sign, signed word
  69. slow
  70. some
  71. sorry
  72. store
  73. take
  74. tell
  75. text, sms
  76. thank, thank you
  77. their
  78. they
  79. think
  80. time
  81. tired
  82. try
  83. understand
  84. use
  85. wait
  86. want
  87. what
  88. when
  89. where
  90. which
  91. who
  92. why
  93. will
  94. with
  95. woman
  96. work
  97. write
  98. yes
  99. you
  100. your

As you feel more comfortable with the first few hundreds of ASL signs, progress further with your vocabulary and learn signing more.