To sign "breathe", place both open, flat hands on your torso, with one hand resting on your upper chest and the other on your stomach. Keep your palms facing inward toward your body. Move both hands outward away from your body and then back inward a couple of times, mimicking the rising and falling motion of your chest and lungs as you take a breath.
To convey a 'deep' breath, sign 'breathe' using a larger, slower outward movement with your hands to emphasize the lungs expanding fully.
Sign 'me', then 'can't', followed by 'breathe'. Pair this with a strained or distressed facial expression to clearly communicate the struggle.
Sign 'relax' followed by 'breathe'. Keep the movement of your hands smooth, slow, and calming to match the reassuring tone of the sentence.
To convey a 'deep' breath, sign 'breathe' using a larger, slower outward movement with your hands to emphasize the lungs expanding fully.
Sign 'me', then 'can't', followed by 'breathe'. Pair this with a strained or distressed facial expression to clearly communicate the struggle.
Sign 'relax' followed by 'breathe'. Keep the movement of your hands smooth, slow, and calming to match the reassuring tone of the sentence.
In ASL, the same sign is generally used for both the noun and the verb. The context of your sentence, the size of the movement, and your facial expressions will clarify whether you are talking about the act of breathing or a single breath.
No, it doesn't strictly matter which hand is on the upper chest and which is on the stomach. Most signers naturally place their dominant hand on top, but either way is perfectly acceptable and easily understood.
To show heavy breathing or panting, you modify the movement of the sign. Move your hands outward and inward much faster and more forcefully, and match the action with an exhausted or strained facial expression.
