How to Sign Breakfast in American Sign Language

The short answer

In American Sign Language (ASL), breakfast is commonly signed as a compound of two signs: EAT followed by MORNING. You tap your fingertips to your mouth as if bringing food to it, then raise your forearm from a horizontal position to an upright one, like the sun coming up.

One clarification matters before you practice: sign language is not universal. ASL is used in the United States and parts of Canada, while British Sign Language, Auslan, Langue des Signes Française and many others have their own vocabularies. This guide describes the ASL compound. If you are communicating with someone who uses a different sign language, their sign for breakfast will likely be different.

Step 1: Sign EAT

• Use your dominant hand, the one you write with.
• Bring your fingertips together to meet your thumb, forming a flattened O shape, as though you are holding a small bite of food.
• Move that hand toward your mouth and tap your fingertips lightly near your lips. A single tap or a short double tap is common.
• Keep your other hand relaxed at your side or in front of your body.

Step 2: Sign MORNING

• Hold your non-dominant arm across your body, roughly horizontal, with the hand flat.
• Bend your dominant arm so the forearm lies horizontally in front of you, with the hand flat and the palm facing toward you or slightly upward.
• Place the fingertips of your non-dominant hand in the crook of your dominant elbow.
• Raise your dominant forearm upward toward vertical while the elbow stays anchored, so the hand rises like the sun over the horizon formed by your other arm.

Step 3: Join the two signs

Sign EAT and move straight into MORNING without a pause between them. In a compound sign the two parts flow together and often become slightly shorter and smoother than when each is signed alone. You do not need to hold either part; a quick, clear EAT followed by the rising MORNING motion is enough to read as breakfast.

How to check that you are signing it correctly

• Watch yourself in a mirror. EAT should land at the mouth, not the chin or cheek, and MORNING should show a clear upward arc anchored at the elbow.
• Check the handshapes. The fingertips should touch the thumb for EAT, and the hand should be flat with fingers together for MORNING.
• Confirm the transition. There should be no long gap or reset between the two parts.
• Compare against a reputable ASL dictionary video or, better, ask a Deaf signer or a qualified ASL instructor to watch you. A mirror shows whether your movements match the description; only a fluent signer can confirm that the sign reads naturally.

Left-handed signers

If you are left-handed, mirror every instruction: your left hand taps the mouth for EAT and rises for MORNING, while your right hand supports the elbow. Choose one dominant hand and keep it consistent rather than switching between signs.

Variation and limitations

ASL has regional and community variation, and some signers order or shorten the parts of this compound differently. The EAT plus MORNING form described here is widely taught, but no specific dictionary entry or video source was supplied for this article, so treat it as a starting point and confirm it with signers in your area or the community you are learning from.

A pattern that helps with other meals

Many learners find it useful that ASL often builds meal names the same way: EAT combined with a time-of-day sign. Lunch is frequently signed as EAT plus NOON, and dinner as EAT plus NIGHT. As with breakfast, check these against a fluent signer, because local usage can differ.