How to Sign "Best Friend" in ASL and Show It Clearly on Camera

What this guide covers

This guide covers American Sign Language (ASL), the sign language most widely used in the US. It describes common ways to sign best friend and the related sign for friend. Because many people sign to friends over video, it also covers the camera and app checks that keep these hand shapes readable on screen. Other sign languages, such as British Sign Language, use different signs and are not covered here.

The signs and elements that matter

• FRIEND (the base sign): Hook your index fingers together, one over the other. Then flip your hands and hook them again with the other hand on top. This matters because the common ways of saying best friend build on the idea in this sign: two people linked together.
• BEST FRIEND with crossed fingers: Cross your index and middle fingers, the same hand shape used to fingerspell the letter R. Hold your hand up in front of your chest or near your shoulder, often with a small shake or tap. The crossed fingers suggest two people who are very close, and this form is commonly used for best friend or close friends.
• Emphasized FRIEND: Sign FRIEND with the hooked fingers held tighter, and use a firmer, more deliberate movement. The added intensity shifts the meaning toward a especially close friend.
• Facial expression: In ASL, your face is part of the grammar, not decoration. A warm expression and a slight nod reinforce the closeness. If your face is blank or out of view, the sign loses part of its meaning.

Signing it on a video call: settings and checks that apply

Problems with signing on camera can come from four different places, and each one is fixed in a different spot. Physical hardware means the camera itself, its position and your lighting. Operating-system settings decide whether an app or browser may use the camera at all. Browser controls decide whether a particular website may use the camera. Application settings, inside the calling app, control mirroring, background effects, auto-framing and video quality.

• Framing (hardware and position): Show yourself from head to waist, with some space beside each shoulder. The best-friend sign happens in front of your chest, so a face-only close-up can crop it out.
• Front lighting (hardware): Face a window or lamp rather than sitting with it behind you. In dim light, cameras usually use a longer exposure, which smears fast finger movements and can make crossed fingers look like a blur.
• Plain, contrasting background (physical setup): A plain wall that contrasts with your skin tone makes finger shapes easier to read. Solid-colored clothing helps for the same reason. Busy patterns behind your hands make the shapes harder to pick out.
• Background blur and virtual backgrounds (app setting): These effects separate you from the background with software. That process can clip or ghost fast-moving fingers. Turn the effects off, or test them first and confirm your hands stay intact.
• Auto-framing or face tracking (app or camera software): These features may zoom in on your face or shift the frame as you move. Either one can push your hands out of view. Turn them off if they crop your signing.
• Mirrored self-view (app setting): Many apps flip only your own preview, while the other person sees an unflipped image. Don't change how you sign based on what the preview looks like. The sign reads correctly to the viewer either way.
• Camera permission (operating system and browser): If your video is black or missing, check two layers. First, check that the operating system's privacy settings allow the app or browser to use the camera. Second, if you call in a browser, check that the browser allows that specific site.
• Video quality and connection (app setting and network): When bandwidth is low, apps reduce resolution and frame rate. Fine finger detail is the first thing to suffer. If your app offers a higher-quality video option, turn it on. Closing other bandwidth-heavy activity can also help.

Step-by-step check before you sign to a friend

• 1. Close other apps that might already be using the camera, since many systems let only one app use it at a time.
• 2. In your operating system's privacy settings, confirm that the calling app or browser is allowed to use the camera.
• 3. If you call through a browser, allow camera access for the site when it asks, or check the site's permission in the browser settings.
• 4. Open the app's video preview and adjust the camera so you are visible from head to waist, with your face lit from the front.
• 5. For this test, turn off background effects and auto-framing in the app's settings.
• 6. Use the app's recording or preview feature to record a short clip. In the clip, sign FRIEND and the crossed-finger best-friend sign at your normal speed.
• 7. Play the clip back. The check has worked if the crossed fingers are clearly separate rather than smeared, both hands stay in frame for the whole sign, and your face is visible throughout.

A local recording shows whether your camera, lighting and framing are good. It cannot show how the live call will compress your video over the network, and a good result in one app or browser does not confirm another. For the most reliable check, start the actual call by signing something short and asking your friend whether it came through clearly.

Gaps in this guide

No verified sign dictionary, video reference or Deaf-community source was supplied for this article. The sign descriptions above are general, text-only explanations, and text can't fully capture movement, location and facial expression. ASL signs also vary by region, age group and community. Some signers use different forms for best friend, and your friend may have a preferred version. Before relying on any sign, watch a video from a Deaf-led ASL resource or ask the person you are signing with how they sign it.