To sign caffeine, start with both hands in 'C' shapes placed just in front of your eyes, with your palms facing your face. Pull your hands outward and slightly forward while simultaneously widening your eyes. This motion mimics the feeling of your eyes popping wide open from the stimulating effect of caffeine.
Sign 'morning', point to yourself, sign 'need', and then use the wide-eyed 'caffeine' sign to show you need that energy boost to wake up.
Sign 'tea', point to the drink, sign 'have', and then sign 'caffeine' while raising your eyebrows and leaning forward to indicate a yes/no question.
Sign 'too much', then 'caffeine', point to yourself, and shake your hands slightly with a tense expression to show the physical feeling of being jittery.
Sign 'morning', point to yourself, sign 'need', and then use the wide-eyed 'caffeine' sign to show you need that energy boost to wake up.
Sign 'tea', point to the drink, sign 'have', and then sign 'caffeine' while raising your eyebrows and leaning forward to indicate a yes/no question.
Sign 'too much', then 'caffeine', point to yourself, and shake your hands slightly with a tense expression to show the physical feeling of being jittery.
Yes! In fact, fingerspelling C-A-F-F-E-I-N-E is very common and widely accepted, especially in medical, scientific, or formal contexts. The sign shown here is a fun, expressive alternative used in casual conversation.
It is very similar and conceptually related! The standard sign for 'awake' also involves the eyes opening wide, usually with the index finger and thumb flicking open near the eyes. The 'C' handshape version emphasizes the intense, wired feeling specifically associated with caffeine.
Not necessarily. While the signer in the video uses a slightly exaggerated facial expression to show being 'wired' or overly caffeinated, the most important part of the non-manual marker is widening your eyes to show alertness.
