How to Ask a Question in Sign Language

The short answer

In American Sign Language (ASL), most of a question is carried by your face and head, not only your hands. To ask a yes/no question, raise your eyebrows, lean your head slightly forward and hold the last sign for a moment. To ask an open question that uses a word such as who, what, where, when, why, which or how, lower or draw your eyebrows together, tilt your head slightly and usually place the question sign at the end of the sentence. If you make the right signs with a neutral face, a signer may read your sentence as a statement rather than a question.

One clarification matters before anything else: sign language is not universal. This guide covers ASL, which is the sign language used most widely in the United States and English-speaking Canada. British Sign Language, Auslan, LSF and other sign languages have their own vocabulary and grammar, so the signs below may not carry over. Signed English systems, which follow English word order, also differ from ASL.

How to read the examples

Sign language examples in writing are usually shown as glosses: English words in capital letters that stand for individual signs. A gloss is only a label. It does not show handshape, movement or facial expression, so treat each example as an outline of the sentence's structure rather than a full description of how to sign it.

The three main question types

Question type | What it asks | Eyebrows | Head and body | Example gloss

Yes/no question | Whether something is true | Raised, eyes widened | Head tilted slightly forward; last sign held briefly | YOU DEAF?

Wh- question | Who, what, where, when, why, which or how | Lowered or drawn together | Head tilted slightly forward or to the side | YOUR NAME WHAT?

Rhetorical question | Not a real question; the signer answers it right away | Raised, even with a wh- sign | Brief pause before giving the answer | I LATE WHY? TRAFFIC.

How to ask a yes/no question

• Sign the sentence in ordinary ASL order, for example YOU HUNGRY.
• Raise your eyebrows and widen your eyes while you sign, not only at the end.
• Lean your head, and sometimes your shoulders, slightly toward the person you are asking.
• Hold the final sign for a beat so the other person can see the question is complete.
• Wait with your eyebrows still raised until they respond.

The eyebrow raise is what turns the sentence into a question. The same signs, YOU HUNGRY, with a neutral face read as the statement "you are hungry."

How to ask a wh- question

• Choose the wh- sign you need: WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, WHY, WHICH or HOW.
• Sign the topic first and put the wh- sign at the end, for example YOUR NAME WHAT or BATHROOM WHERE. Some signers place the wh- sign at both the start and the end for emphasis.
• Lower or draw your eyebrows together while signing the question.
• Tilt your head slightly and keep the expression through the final sign.
• Pause and hold eye contact so the other person knows it is their turn.

Lowered eyebrows can look like frowning to people new to ASL. In this context they are grammar, not a sign of annoyance, and signers read them that way.

Common question signs

The descriptions below are common forms, but signs vary by region, age group and community, and written descriptions cannot fully show movement. Check each one against a reputable ASL video dictionary or a Deaf instructor before relying on it.

• WHAT: both hands open with palms facing up, shaken slightly side to side in front of the body.
• WHERE: index finger pointing up, wagged side to side.
• WHO: index finger circling near the mouth or chin; another common form rests the thumb on the chin and wiggles the index finger.
• WHEN: index finger of the dominant hand circles around the tip of the other index finger and then touches it.
• WHY: fingertips touch the forehead, then the hand moves forward and away, often ending with the thumb and little finger extended.
• WHICH: both hands in fists with thumbs up, moved alternately up and down.
• HOW: both hands bent with knuckles or backs of the fingers touching, rolled forward and opened so the palms face up.
• QUESTION: the index finger traces a question-mark shape in the air, often ending with a small forward movement. It can be added to the end of a sentence to stress that you are asking.

Useful beginner questions

YOUR NAME WHAT?          (What is your name?)
YOU DEAF?                (Are you Deaf?)
BATHROOM WHERE?          (Where is the bathroom?)
YOU UNDERSTAND?          (Do you understand?)
AGAIN PLEASE?            (Can you repeat that?)
SLOW PLEASE?             (Could you sign more slowly?)
HOW SIGN ___?            (How do you sign ___?)

Pair each of these with the matching facial expression: raised eyebrows for the yes/no questions, lowered eyebrows for the ones using WHAT, WHERE and HOW. Requests such as AGAIN PLEASE are commonly signed with raised eyebrows, as a polite yes/no request.

How to check that your question comes across

• Practice in front of a mirror and confirm your eyebrows move up for yes/no questions and down for wh- questions.
• Check that the expression lasts through the whole question, not just the last sign.
• Confirm you are holding the final sign briefly instead of dropping your hands immediately.
• Ask a fluent signer to watch. The clearest sign of success is that they respond with an answer, not by nodding as if you made a statement.

Practicing alone can confirm that your signs and expressions match the patterns above, but it cannot confirm that your handshapes, movements or regional sign choices are understood. Only feedback from fluent signers can tell you that. If you sign over video, keep your face as well as your hands clearly visible, because the facial grammar is part of the question.

Limitations of this guide

No specific sources, studies or regional data were supplied for this article, so it describes widely taught ASL patterns rather than a verified standard. Sign forms differ between communities, and some details, such as whether a wh- sign appears at the start, end or both, vary between signers. For accurate handshapes and movement, learn from a video dictionary, a class, or Deaf teachers and community members.