People around the world speak thousands of different languages — but how do you talk about them using your hands?
That’s where sign language steps in. Whether you’re Deaf, hard of hearing, or learning sign language to communicate better, you may want to know: how do you sign “English”, “Spanish”, “Arabic”, “Chinese”, and more in sign language?
This article solves that exact problem. Here, you’ll learn how to say the names of 70 spoken languages in sign language — mostly based on American Sign Language (ASL), with mentions of regional variants where relevant.
So let’s dive into this global vocabulary, hand by hand!
✋ How to Sign Different Languages in Sign Language (70 Spoken Languages)
Each line shows:
Spoken Language (🇺🇸) – [Sign Language Term] | ASL Pronunciation Hint
👉 Represents spoken language: [language name]
- English (🇺🇸) – ENGLISH | ASL: Closed hand taps on side of other hand
👉 Refers to the English language - Spanish (🇪🇸) – SPANISH | ASL: “F” hand shape near shoulder
👉 Refers to Spanish - French (🇫🇷) – FRENCH | ASL: “F” hand flips near forehead
👉 Refers to French - German (🇩🇪) – GERMAN | ASL: Wiggle fingers at forehead
👉 Refers to German - Italian (🇮🇹) – ITALIAN | ASL: “I” shape makes a cross on forehead
👉 Refers to Italian - Portuguese (🇵🇹) – PORTUGUESE | ASL: Sign “PORTUGAL” or fingerspell
👉 Refers to Portuguese - Arabic (🇸🇦) – ARABIC | ASL: Curved hand brushes beard/chin
👉 Refers to Arabic - Mandarin Chinese (🇨🇳) – CHINESE | ASL: Index hand traces buttons on chest
👉 Refers to Mandarin - Japanese (🇯🇵) – JAPANESE | ASL: Index fingers pinch near eyes
👉 Refers to Japanese - Korean (🇰🇷) – KOREAN | ASL: “K” hand touches forehead
👉 Refers to Korean - Hindi (🇮🇳) – HINDI | ASL: Fingerspell H-I-N-D-I or sign “INDIA” then “LANGUAGE”
👉 Refers to Hindi - Urdu (🇵🇰) – URDU | ASL: Fingerspell U-R-D-U
👉 Refers to Urdu - Russian (🇷🇺) – RUSSIAN | ASL: Brush chin with fingers
👉 Refers to Russian - Turkish (🇹🇷) – TURKISH | ASL: Fingerspell T-U-R-K-I-S-H
👉 Refers to Turkish - Persian (Farsi) (🇮🇷) – PERSIAN | ASL: Sign “IRAN” then “LANGUAGE”
👉 Refers to Persian - Pashto (🇦🇫) – PASHTO | ASL: Fingerspell P-A-S-H-T-O
👉 Refers to Pashto - Punjabi (🇮🇳) – PUNJABI | ASL: Fingerspell or sign “INDIA” + “LANGUAGE”
👉 Refers to Punjabi - Tamil (🇮🇳) – TAMIL | ASL: Fingerspell T-A-M-I-L
👉 Refers to Tamil - Telugu (🇮🇳) – TELUGU | ASL: Fingerspell T-E-L-U-G-U
👉 Refers to Telugu - Malayalam (🇮🇳) – MALAYALAM | ASL: Fingerspell M-A-L-A-Y-A-L-A-M
👉 Refers to Malayalam - Bengali (🇧🇩) – BENGALI | ASL: Sign “BANGLADESH” then “LANGUAGE”
👉 Refers to Bengali - Nepali (🇳🇵) – NEPALI | ASL: Sign “NEPAL” then “LANGUAGE”
👉 Refers to Nepali - Sinhala (🇱🇰) – SINHALA | ASL: Fingerspell S-I-N-H-A-L-A
👉 Refers to Sinhala - Vietnamese (🇻🇳) – VIETNAMESE | ASL: V hand flicks from nose
👉 Refers to Vietnamese - Thai (🇹🇭) – THAI | ASL: Index from nose outward
👉 Refers to Thai - Lao (🇱🇦) – LAO | ASL: Fingerspell L-A-O
👉 Refers to Lao - Khmer (🇰🇭) – KHMER | ASL: Fingerspell K-H-M-E-R
👉 Refers to Khmer - Tagalog (🇵🇭) – TAGALOG | ASL: Fingerspell T-A-G-A-L-O-G
👉 Refers to Tagalog - Indonesian (🇮🇩) – INDONESIAN | ASL: Sign “INDONESIA” then “LANGUAGE”
👉 Refers to Bahasa Indonesia - Malay (🇲🇾) – MALAY | ASL: Fingerspell M-A-L-A-Y
👉 Refers to Malay - Swahili (🇰🇪) – SWAHILI | ASL: Fingerspell S-W-A-H-I-L-I
👉 Refers to Swahili - Zulu (🇿🇦) – ZULU | ASL: Fingerspell Z-U-L-U
👉 Refers to Zulu - Xhosa (🇿🇦) – XHOSA | ASL: Fingerspell X-H-O-S-A
👉 Refers to Xhosa - Amharic (🇪🇹) – AMHARIC | ASL: Fingerspell A-M-H-A-R-I-C
👉 Refers to Amharic - Somali (🇸🇴) – SOMALI | ASL: Fingerspell S-O-M-A-L-I
👉 Refers to Somali - French Creole (🇭🇹) – CREOLE | ASL: “C” shape shakes side to side
👉 Refers to Haitian Creole - Dutch (🇳🇱) – DUTCH | ASL: “D” hand at mouth
👉 Refers to Dutch - German Sign Language (🇩🇪) – DGS | Fingerspell D-G-S
👉 Refers to German Sign Language - British English (🇬🇧) – BSL | Sign BSL with fingers (British Sign Language)
👉 Refers to British English - Irish (🇮🇪) – IRISH | ASL: Fingerspell I-R-I-S-H
👉 Refers to Irish - Scottish Gaelic (🏴) – SCOTTISH | ASL: Fingerspell
👉 Refers to Scottish Gaelic - Welsh (🏴) – WELSH | ASL: Fingerspell W-E-L-S-H
👉 Refers to Welsh - Finnish (🇫🇮) – FINNISH | ASL: “F” flicks off chin
👉 Refers to Finnish - Norwegian (🇳🇴) – NORWEGIAN | ASL: Fingerspell N-O-R-W-E-G-I-A-N
👉 Refers to Norwegian - Swedish (🇸🇪) – SWEDISH | ASL: “S” hand circles near chin
👉 Refers to Swedish - Danish (🇩🇰) – DANISH | ASL: Fingerspell D-A-N-I-S-H
👉 Refers to Danish - Romanian (🇷🇴) – ROMANIAN | ASL: Fingerspell R-O-M-A-N-I-A-N
👉 Refers to Romanian - Hungarian (🇭🇺) – HUNGARIAN | ASL: Fingerspell
👉 Refers to Hungarian - Greek (🇬🇷) – GREEK | ASL: G from forehead down
👉 Refers to Greek - Polish (🇵🇱) – POLISH | ASL: “P” hand near chin
👉 Refers to Polish - Czech (🇨🇿) – CZECH | ASL: Fingerspell C-Z-E-C-H
👉 Refers to Czech - Ukrainian (🇺🇦) – UKRAINIAN | ASL: Fingerspell
👉 Refers to Ukrainian - Belarusian (🇧🇾) – BELARUSIAN | ASL: Fingerspell
👉 Refers to Belarusian - Hebrew (🇮🇱) – HEBREW | ASL: “H” at mouth
👉 Refers to Hebrew - Yiddish (🇺🇸) – YIDDISH | ASL: Fingerspell
👉 Refers to Yiddish - Latin (🇻🇦) – LATIN | ASL: “L” hand flips out
👉 Refers to Latin - Esperanto (🌍) – ESPERANTO | ASL: Fingerspell
👉 Refers to Esperanto - Maori (🇳🇿) – MAORI | ASL: Fingerspell
👉 Refers to Maori - Samoan (🇼🇸) – SAMOAN | ASL: Fingerspell
👉 Refers to Samoan - Tongan (🇹🇴) – TONGAN | ASL: Fingerspell
👉 Refers to Tongan - Hawaiian (🇺🇸) – HAWAIIAN | ASL: “H” makes small circles near chest
👉 Refers to Hawaiian - Basque (🇪🇸) – BASQUE | ASL: Fingerspell
👉 Refers to Basque - Galician (🇪🇸) – GALICIAN | ASL: Fingerspell
👉 Refers to Galician - Catalan (🇪🇸) – CATALAN | ASL: Fingerspell
👉 Refers to Catalan - Maltese (🇲🇹) – MALTESE | ASL: Fingerspell
👉 Refers to Maltese - Luxembourgish (🇱🇺) – LUXEMBOURGISH | ASL: Fingerspell
👉 Refers to Luxembourgish - Icelandic (🇮🇸) – ICELANDIC | ASL: Fingerspell
👉 Refers to Icelandic - Estonian (🇪🇪) – ESTONIAN | ASL: Fingerspell
👉 Refers to Estonian - Latvian (🇱🇻) – LATVIAN | ASL: Fingerspell
👉 Refers to Latvian - Lithuanian (🇱🇹) – LITHUANIAN | ASL: Fingerspell
👉 Refers to Lithuanian
🌟 Conclusion
Whether spoken or signed, the beauty of language lives in how we connect — and now, you can sign your way across the world.
Oliver Grant is a passionate American author known for crafting insightful and engaging content that inspires readers worldwide. With a strong background in creative writing and a deep interest in contemporary literature, Oliver has built a reputation for delivering thought-provoking narratives that resonate with a modern audience.
Throughout his career, Oliver has consistently blended intellectual depth with relatable storytelling, making complex ideas accessible to readers from all walks of life. His writing style is both elegant and approachable, allowing him to connect meaningfully with his audience.
When he’s not writing, Oliver enjoys exploring new ideas, reading across diverse genres, and mentoring aspiring writers. His dedication to the craft and his ability to present fresh perspectives have earned him a loyal following.
Oliver Grant is the author of several acclaimed books, including “The Creative Mindset,” “Stories That Connect,” and “The Modern Writer’s Journey.” Each of these works reflects his commitment to empowering readers and fellow writers through creativity and purposeful storytelling.