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Symbol Font for ASL

How can you read and write American Sign Language?

ASL Handshapes

This page provides a side-by-side comparison of handshape representations in both ASCII-based and symbol-based writing systems for ASL.

The tables below show the equivalent symbol or code for each handshape under each writing system. If a writing system does not account for the handshape, I have listed either the most similar handshape available, or an attempt to approximate the handshape using that system's rules for representing arbitrary handshapes (where possible).

Abbreviations Used

SN
Stokoe Notation
ISWA
SignWriting
HNS
Hamburg Notation System
SF
SignFont
ASLP
ASLphabet
ASLO
ASL Orthography
si5s
si5s
SLIPA
Sign Language IPA
ASLSJ
ASL SignJotting
SS
SignScript

Symbol Comparison Table

Writing System: SN ISWA* HNS* SF ASLP ASLO si5s SLIPA* ASLSJ SS This page
Approx. Number of
Handhapes Provided:
45+ 255 200+ 125+ 22 46+ 65+ 54+ 59+ 46 51

* These systems are specifically designed to accommodate handshapes for other signed languages that aren't needed in ASL. In SignWriting, about 83 handshapes are used for writing ASL.

Handshape Gloss SN ISWA HNS SF ASLP ASLO si5s SLIPA ASLSJ SS
1 1 G 󽠰  d 1 1 G lh 1
d D G 󽠱  dQ D d D d d
l L L 󽤌  dP L l L le l
X Bent-X X 󽠺  ÃR XC X X< xh x
x X X 󽠶  dR X x X xh x
L Bent-L X` 󽤑  dT XL L L> lb L
G Open-G
Small-C
L" 󽤝 cQ GC G C' xe L
T Small-O L# 󽤚  aQ AG L} xc f
t T T 󽤫  t T t T t t
g G G 󽤠  g G g L} lb g
F Closed-G G# 󽤤  gQ GO F G} xc f
f F F 󽣾 fQ F f F fh 9
Handshape Gloss SN ISWA HNS SF ASLP ASLO si5s SLIPA ASLSJ SS
v V V 󽠾  u V v V vh 2
3 3 3 󽡎  uP 3 3 3 v 3
V Bent-V V" 󽡀  uR VC V V> vhb @
W Bent-3 3" 󽡑  uT 3C W 3> vb 3
u U H 󽡅  h U u U uh h
H 13 U` 󽡝  hP UL H U: u h
U Bent-U H" 󽡈  hR UC U U> ub h
N Flat-N H# 󽡯  hQS NO N N nc h
n N H# 󽡉  hS N n N n n
k K K 󽡰  k K k K k k
K 23 K` 󽡔  kP KL K K{ ke k
r R R 󽡊  r R r R rh r
R Open-R R` 󽡣  rP RL R R{ re r
Handshape Gloss SN ISWA HNS SF ASLP ASLO si5s SLIPA ASLSJ SS
4 4 W` 󽡴  n 4 4 4 e 4
5 5 5 󽡼  p 5 5 5 c 5
E Bent-4 E 󽡵  nR 4C E 4> eb %
S Bent-5
Claw
E 󽢄  pR 5C S C) cb %
Q Flat-5 5 󽢇  pS 5G Q 5} c 5
b B B 󽡷  bQ B b B bh b
B Open-B B` 󽢍  bP BL B B\ b b
c C C 󽢝 c C c C ch c
C Open-C C` 󽢟  bT CL C B\} beb b
M Bent-B B" 󽢰  bU OL M B\} beb b
Handshape Gloss SN ISWA HNS SF ASLP ASLO si5s SLIPA ASLSJ SS
o O O 󽢦 o OE o O o 0
O Flat-O O 󽢵  oS O O O< o 0
e E E 󽡺  e E e E eh e
s S S 󽤳  s S s S s s
a A A 󽤧 a A a A ah a
A Open-A A` 󽤥  aP AL A A< a a
Handshape Gloss SN ISWA HNS SF ASLP ASLO si5s SLIPA ASLSJ SS
w W W 󽢶  f W w W wh 6
m M W" 󽢽  bQR M m M m m
7 7 7 󽣔  uV 7 7 7 hh 7
8 8 8# 󽣫  q 8 8 8 qh 8
D Open-8 8 󽣱  qZ 8G D 8< qb 8
P 25 8` 󽣵  qP 8L P 8{ q *
I 1-I Y2 󽣐  dV 78 I Y^ ie v
Y L-I Y2` 󽣌  jP IL Y Y: ye z
i I I 󽣂  i I i I i i
y Y Y 󽣊  iP Y y Y y y
See also: