--- title: "ASL Fingerspelling Chart & Practice | Kindness Junction" description: "An ASL fingerspelling chart with a drawing and plain description of every letter, plus practice: watch words spelled at your speed and type them." url: https://kindnessjunction.sbs/asl-fingerspelling/ --- # ASL fingerspelling chart and practice American Sign Language spells out names and words letter by letter on one hand. Learn the 26 handshapes from the chart, then practise reading words spelled at the speed you choose. ## The manual alphabet Drawn as the person watching sees a right hand. J and Z move: follow the dashed arrow. 1. **A:** Make a fist with the thumb resting straight up against the side of the index finger. 2. **B:** Hold the four fingers straight up and together, with the thumb folded across the palm. 3. **C:** Curve the fingers and thumb into the shape of a C, as if holding a can. 4. **D:** Point the index finger up. Curl the other fingers so their tips touch the thumb, making a round opening. 5. **E:** Bend all four fingers down so the fingertips rest on the thumb, which is folded across the palm. 6. **F:** Touch the tips of the index finger and thumb to make a circle. Hold the other three fingers up and slightly apart. 7. **G:** Point the index finger and thumb sideways, parallel to each other, with the other fingers closed. 8. **H:** Point the index and middle fingers sideways, held together, with the thumb tucked against the closed fingers. 9. **I:** Raise the little finger. Close the other fingers with the thumb across them. 10. **J:** Start with the I handshape. Move the little finger down and around, as if drawing the letter J in the air, by turning the forearm so the palm ends up facing you. 11. **K:** Point the index finger up and the middle finger forward at an angle, with the tip of the thumb touching the middle finger between them. 12. **L:** Point the index finger up and the thumb out to the side, making an L. Close the other fingers. 13. **M:** Fold the index, middle and ring fingers down over the thumb, which is tucked underneath them. 14. **N:** Fold the index and middle fingers down over the thumb, which is tucked underneath them. 15. **O:** Curve all the fingers so their tips meet the tip of the thumb, making an O. 16. **P:** Make the K handshape and turn the hand so the fingers point down. 17. **Q:** Make the G handshape and turn the hand so the index finger and thumb point down. 18. **R:** Cross the middle finger over the index finger, both pointing up. Close the other fingers. 19. **S:** Make a fist with the thumb wrapped across the front of the fingers. 20. **T:** Make a fist with the thumb tucked between the index and middle fingers, its tip showing. 21. **U:** Hold the index and middle fingers straight up and together. Close the other fingers. 22. **V:** Hold the index and middle fingers up and apart, making a V. Close the other fingers. 23. **W:** Hold the index, middle and ring fingers up and apart. The thumb holds down the little finger. 24. **X:** Raise the index finger and bend it into a hook. Close the other fingers. 25. **Y:** Stretch out the thumb and little finger. Close the three middle fingers. 26. **Z:** Point the index finger and draw a Z in the air with its tip, as if painting a Z on a wall in front of you. ## Learning the alphabet Fingerspelling is part of ASL. Each letter of the English alphabet has its own handshape, and it is used for names, places and words that have no common sign. Hold your hand still and relaxed, palm angled towards the person you are spelling to, and keep the movement small and steady. Most letters are still shapes. J and Z move: J traces a J with the little finger, and Z draws a Z with the index finger. For a double letter, as in *book*, signers commonly slide the hand a little to the side, or relax and re-form the shape, rather than bouncing it. ## Practising Fluent signers read the shape of the whole word, not single letters, so start slow and speed up as you improve. Practice uses everyday words, and Spell a word shows any name or word letter by letter. The drawings are simplified line pictures; the descriptions say exactly where each finger goes, so read them with the pictures. A Deaf teacher or class is the best way to learn real signing. ## Sources - National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders: [American Sign Language](https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/american-sign-language) (fingerspelling and the manual alphabet). - Vicars W. ASL University, Lifeprint: [Fingerspelling introduction](https://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/fingerspelling/fingerspelling.htm), [the letter Z](https://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/pages-signs/z/z.htm) and [notes on J, M, N and double letters](https://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/fingerspelling/fingerspelling2.htm). ## Questions **Why are the hands shown from the front?** Fingerspelling is read by the other person, so the chart shows a right hand as they see it. If you sign with your left hand, tick Mirror and copy the pictures as if looking in a mirror. **Is this the same as British Sign Language?** No. British Sign Language uses a two-handed alphabet, and other sign languages have their own. This chart is the one-handed American alphabet. **How many handshapes are there?** Lifeprint's ASL University counts 22 handshapes for the 26 letters: some letters share a shape and differ only by direction or movement, such as K and P, G and Q, and I and J.