How to Sign Chair in ASL

The short answer

In American Sign Language (ASL), CHAIR uses an H handshape on both hands. An H handshape means the index and middle fingers are extended side by side, and the ring finger, little finger and thumb are tucked in. Your non-dominant hand is held palm down to stand for the seat. You bend the two fingers of your dominant hand and tap them down onto it twice. The bent fingers suggest a person's legs hanging over the edge of a seat.

This guide covers ASL, the sign language most widely used by Deaf communities in the US. Other sign languages, such as British Sign Language, have their own signs for chair, so the description below does not apply to them.

Step by step

• 1. Make an H handshape with both hands: index and middle fingers extended and touching, ring and little fingers folded down, and the thumb holding them in place.
• 2. Hold your non-dominant hand in front of your body, palm down, with the two extended fingers pointing sideways across your body. This is the seat.
• 3. Turn your dominant hand palm down and bend its two extended fingers so they curve downward like a hook. This is the person sitting.
• 4. Bring the curved fingers down across the top of the seat fingers so the two hands form a rough cross.
• 5. Make two small, quick taps down onto the seat fingers.

Your dominant hand is usually the one you write with. Left-handed signers simply mirror the description, using the left hand as the active hand.

Telling CHAIR apart from SIT

SIT uses the same handshapes and the same position, but with one firmer downward movement. ASL often shows the noun in a related noun–verb pair with a smaller, repeated movement, and CHAIR is the repeated form. If you tap only once, a signer is likely to read it as SIT.

How to check that you are signing it correctly

Compare your hands against these points:

• Both hands show two fingers held together. If the fingers are spread apart, you are making a V handshape instead.
• The dominant hand's fingers are curved, not straight.
• The two hands cross each other rather than lying parallel.
• The movement is two small taps, not one.

To see your sign the way someone else would, practice in a mirror or record a short video of yourself. Remember that a mirror flips left and right, so your image will look reversed when you compare it with a video of another signer. If you record, frame yourself so both hands are clearly visible in front of your body. These checks confirm that your sign matches the written description. They cannot confirm that it looks natural to fluent signers, which only feedback from a fluent signer can do.

Limits of this guide

This guide covers chair as a piece of furniture. If you need chair in the sense of a chairperson who runs a meeting, that is a different meaning and this sign does not cover it. Look it up separately.

No reference videos or sources were supplied for this article. The description reflects the commonly taught ASL form, and regional and individual variation exists. Before relying on it, check the sign against a current ASL dictionary that includes video, or ask a Deaf signer or qualified ASL instructor.