How to Sign "Accept" in ASL

The short answer

The sign most often used for ACCEPT in American Sign Language (ASL) is two-handed. Both open hands start in front of your body, then move back toward your chest while the fingers close together, as if you are gathering something and taking it in. The motion ends with your fingertips at or near your chest.

Step by step

• 1. Start position: Hold both hands in front of your chest, a comfortable distance from your body. Spread the fingers of each hand. This is called a 5-handshape, because all five fingers are extended.
• 2. Palm orientation: Palms face down or slightly toward you, with the fingertips pointing forward.
• 3. Movement: Draw both hands back toward your chest in one smooth motion.
• 4. Handshape change: As the hands move, bring the fingertips together onto the thumb on each hand. This closed shape is called a flat O.
• 5. End position: Finish with both flat-O hands at or just touching your upper chest.

Check that you signed it correctly

• Both hands move together, not one after the other.
• The handshape changes during the movement, not before it starts or after it stops.
• The direction is toward your body. Moving away from you changes the image from taking something in to giving something away.
• Compare your version with a video from a reputable ASL dictionary or with a fluent Deaf signer. A written description can't fully show speed, size and facial expression.

When "accept" might need a different sign

ASL is its own language, not a word-for-word code for English, so an English word does not always map to a single sign. The ACCEPT sign above fits the sense of taking something in, such as accepting an offer, an idea or a situation. If you mean "I agree with you," signers often use the separate sign AGREE instead. If you mean physically receiving an object, a sign meaning GET or RECEIVE may fit better. In real conversation, context, facial expression and head movement also shape the meaning. A nod, for example, can add a sense of willing acceptance.

Signs can also vary between regions, communities and individual signers. This guide gives a widely taught form, but it isn't based on a specific dictionary entry. If you need it for a particular class, workplace or community, confirm the form that group uses.

Also note that accepting an incoming video call is done with the app's button or keyboard shortcut. No sign is involved.

Showing the sign clearly on a video call

Because ACCEPT starts in front of the body and ends at the chest, frame the camera so your hands, chest and face are all visible. Leave some space above your head and to each side, so the starting position isn't cut off. Even lighting on your hands and face helps, and a plain background behind you makes hand movement easier to follow. If you use a virtual background or blur effect, check your preview first. These effects sometimes mistake moving hands for background and blur or clip them. If that happens, switch to a real plain background instead.

Your camera's preview shows your framing, but it doesn't guarantee how the other person sees you. A slow or unstable connection can make fast hand movements look choppy on their end. If you can, ask the other person to confirm the sign came through clearly.