If you’re just starting out with American Sign Language, you probably think the sign for we in ASL is one of those "gimme" signs. It looks simple. You just point at yourself and then point at someone else, right? Well, sort of. But there’s a subtle mechanical nuance that separates someone who actually knows the language from someone who just watched a thirty-second TikTok tutorial.
ASL isn't just English on the hands. It's a spatial, visual language where the tiniest flick of the wrist changes who you’re talking about.
Honestly, the "we" sign is a classic example of how pronouns in ASL work through indexing. You aren't just memorizing a static gesture. You are physically defining a space that includes you and at least one other person. If you get the arc wrong, you might accidentally be signing "they" or "you all," which leads to some pretty awkward blank stares in a real conversation.
Getting the Mechanics Right: The Index Finger Arc
To do the sign for we in ASL correctly, you start with your dominant hand. Use your "1" or index finger. You touch your dominant side shoulder (or just the chest area near it) with the tip of that index finger. Then, you move your hand in a horizontal outward arc and bring it back to touch your non-dominant side.
Wait.
Check your palm orientation. This is where people trip up. Your palm should be facing toward you during the movement. If your palm is facing away, you're doing something else entirely. It’s a fluid, circular motion that literally "gathers" the people you’re talking about into a single group that includes yourself.
Think about the physical logic here. You start at "me," move out to include "them," and finish back at "me." It creates a closed loop.
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The Difference Between We, Us, and Inclusive Groups
In English, we have "we" and "us." In ASL, the distinction is usually handled by the context of the sentence or the verb being used. The basic sign for we in ASL covers both. However, ASL is way more efficient than English when it comes to specific numbers.
Ever been in a situation where you say "we should go to lunch" and someone asks, "Wait, you and me? Or all of us?"
ASL solves this with "number pronouns." If it’s just you and one other person, you don't use the standard arc. Instead, you use a "2" handshape (index and middle fingers up). You flip your palm up and move the hand back and forth between you and the other person. That specifically means "the two of us." You can do this for "the three of us," "the four of us," and even "the five of us."
Once you hit six people, the handshape gets a bit clunky, so most signers revert back to the general arc for "we." Bill Vicars, a well-known ASL educator and founder of ASL University, often emphasizes that these numerical pronouns are vital for clarity. If you just use the general "we" when you specifically mean "the two of us," you're actually losing a layer of information that native signers expect.
Common Mistakes Beginners Make
One of the funniest mistakes is the "over-dramatic arc." You don't need to swing your arm across the entire room. In casual conversation, the movement is small. It’s mostly in the wrist. If you’re making a huge sweeping motion, you look like you’re giving a stump speech in a stadium.
Another big one? Switching hands.
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ASL has a "dominant hand" rule. If you’re right-handed, you use your right hand to sign "we," starting on your right shoulder and ending on your left. If you’re a lefty, you start on your left and end on your right. Switching back and forth because your arm is tired or you’re holding a coffee makes you much harder to understand. It breaks the "visual grammar" of the space you’ve set up.
Why Placement Matters in ASL Grammar
Location is everything. In ASL, this is called "deictic referencing." When you use the sign for we in ASL, you are establishing a point in space.
If the people you are talking about are physically in the room, you should actually point toward them during the arc. If they aren't there, you use a "neutral space" in front of you. This is why eye contact is so weirdly important. You don't just look at your hand; you look at the person you’re talking to, or you glance at the group you’re including in the "we."
There is also the concept of "exclusive" vs "inclusive" we, though ASL handles this more through spatial pointing than a different sign altogether. If I’m talking to you and I say "we" (meaning me and my friend over there, but not you), I would point the arc toward my friend and away from you. If I mean you and me, the arc clearly moves between our two positions.
Regional Variations and "Slang" Versions
Just like people in New York talk differently than people in Georgia, ASL has regional dialects. You might see some older signers use a "W" handshape (index, middle, and ring fingers up) that touches the shoulders. This is an initialized sign.
Initialization was really popular in the mid-20th century because of systems like Signing Exact English (SEE). The idea was to make ASL more like English by using the first letter of the English word.
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Most modern Deaf communities and ASL instructors have moved away from this. They prefer the "natural" version using the index finger. Using the "W" version of the sign for we in ASL can make you look a bit dated, or like you learned from a textbook printed in 1975. It’s not "wrong" per se, but it’s definitely not the cool way to do it anymore.
Real-World Practice
If you want to get good at this, stop thinking about the word "we" and start thinking about the circle.
- Scenario A: You and your best friend are at a mall. You want to say "We should eat." You use the "2-of-us" sign because it’s just the two of you.
- Scenario B: You’re with a group of five friends. You sign "we" with the index finger arc.
- Scenario C: You’re talking about your family who lives in another state. You use the index finger arc in the space in front of you.
Actually, try this right now:
Point to your right shoulder. Swing your finger in a small rainbow shape to your left shoulder. Keep your palm facing your chest. Do it fast. Do it slow. Notice how much easier it is when you relax your elbow.
The Cultural Weight of the Sign
In the Deaf community, "we" is a powerful concept. Deaf culture is highly collectivist. There is a strong sense of "Deaf-World" (often signed as DEAF-SAME). When a signer uses the sign for we in ASL, they are often invoking a shared experience.
Language isn't just a tool; it's an identity. Using the correct, fluid motion shows respect for the linguistics of the community. It shows you aren't just "word-matching" from an English-to-ASL dictionary.
Actionable Next Steps for Mastery
To move beyond the "beginner" look, you need to integrate the sign into natural phrases. Don't just practice the word in isolation.
- Record yourself. Use your phone to record yourself signing "We are going to the store." See if your "we" looks stiff or if it flows into the next sign.
- Watch native content. Go to YouTube or DailyMoth and look for how news anchors sign "we." You'll notice they rarely hit the shoulder perfectly; it’s more of a ghost-touch near the chest.
- Learn the "Number-3" and "Number-4" pronouns. Instead of relying on the general "we," learn the specific handshapes for groups of 3 and 4. It will immediately make your ASL sound—and look—more fluent.
- Watch your palm. Ensure that throughout the arc, your palm is oriented toward your body. If it flips out, you're accidentally signing "you all" to a group in front of you.
- Focus on the wrist. The most "human" and natural version of this sign involves a flexible wrist. A stiff arm makes you look like a robot.
Understanding the sign for we in ASL is about more than just a finger movement. It’s about understanding how you fit into the space around you and how you represent your relationship with others. Keep the arc smooth, keep the palm in, and focus on the number of people you're actually talking about.