To sign adult, start by raising both hands to about head or shoulder height, positioned slightly out to the sides of your body. Form both hands into a 'bent B' handshape—keep your fingers straight and close together, but bend them at a 90-degree angle at the base knuckles. With your palms facing down and fingers pointing forward, hold or slightly move the hands upward. This gesture visually represents the tall physical height of a fully grown person.
To sign this, start by signing 'ticket' using your bent 'V' handshape over your flat palm. Then, hold up your index finger to indicate 'one'. Finally, use the two-handed 'bent B' sign for 'adult' to show who the ticket is for.
Begin with the sign for 'adult' by raising both of your 'bent B' hands to head height. Then, sign 'need' with a hooked 'X' handshape moving downward. Finish by bringing both hands forward near your head to sign 'pay attention'.
Point directly to the person you are asking to sign 'you'. Then, sign 'adult' by raising your 'bent B' hands. Because this is a yes/no question, make sure to raise your eyebrows and lean forward slightly while holding the final sign.
To sign this, start by signing 'ticket' using your bent 'V' handshape over your flat palm. Then, hold up your index finger to indicate 'one'. Finally, use the two-handed 'bent B' sign for 'adult' to show who the ticket is for.
Begin with the sign for 'adult' by raising both of your 'bent B' hands to head height. Then, sign 'need' with a hooked 'X' handshape moving downward. Finish by bringing both hands forward near your head to sign 'pay attention'.
Point directly to the person you are asking to sign 'you'. Then, sign 'adult' by raising your 'bent B' hands. Because this is a yes/no question, make sure to raise your eyebrows and lean forward slightly while holding the final sign.
Yes! A very common alternative uses an initialized 'A' handshape. You touch the thumb of your 'A' hand to the side of your chin, then move it up to touch the side of your forehead. Both the height-based version and the initialized version are widely used across the Deaf community.
Yes, depending entirely on the context of your sentence, this exact sign can be used to mean tall. When you hold the 'bent B' handshape high up, it describes the physical height of a person, which naturally translates to both the concept of an adult and being tall.
In ASL, the 'bent B' handshape is a specific classifier used to indicate the height of a human being. If you were to use a flat, open hand with the palm facing down, it would typically refer to the height of an animal, like a dog, or an inanimate object.
