How to Sign Let in American Sign Language

The short answer

In American Sign Language (ASL), the sign for LET is commonly taught as the same sign used for ALLOW or PERMIT. Hold both hands flat with the palms facing each other and the fingertips angled downward. Then swing both hands forward and up together so the fingertips end up pointing forward. This guide covers ASL, the sign language most widely used in the US. Other sign languages, such as British Sign Language, use different signs.

A written description can't fully show speed, rhythm or exact hand angles. Before you rely on the sign, compare your version with a video from a Deaf signer or a reputable ASL dictionary.

Step by step

• 1. Make both hands flat, with your fingers together and your thumbs resting alongside them.
• 2. Hold your hands in front of your body at about waist to lower-chest height, a short distance apart, with the palms facing each other.
• 3. Angle the fingertips downward and slightly forward.
• 4. In one smooth motion, swing both hands forward and upward, mainly by bending at the wrists.
• 5. Stop when the fingertips point forward and your palms still face each other.

How to check your form

• Your hands stay parallel and move at the same time, rather than one after the other.
• Your palms keep facing each other through the whole movement and never turn down or up.
• The motion is one clean arc, not a repeated or shaking movement.
• The ending position, with fingertips forward, is clearly different from the starting position, with fingertips down.
• Your facial expression fits the sentence. In ASL, the face carries grammar, such as whether you are asking or stating.

Practicing in a mirror, or recording yourself and comparing the clip with a reference video, shows you whether your hand shape and movement match. These checks only cover how the sign looks. They can't tell you whether your sentence is natural ASL. Feedback from a fluent signer is the only reliable way to check that.

When the English word won't translate directly

ASL isn't a word-for-word version of English, so the sign above fits best when "let" means allow or permit, as in "Let him go to the party." Other English uses may be expressed differently:
• "Let's," when it makes a suggestion
• "let go," meaning release
• "let down," meaning disappoint
• "let me know"
These can involve different signs, different word order or facial grammar instead of a separate sign. If you need one of these meanings, ask a fluent signer how they would phrase the whole sentence.

Signs can also vary by region, community and individual signer. Small differences you see in videos, such as hand height or how far the hands travel, are often normal variation rather than mistakes.

What this guide doesn't cover

No reference videos, dictionary entries or expert reviews were supplied for this article. The description above is the commonly taught form and hasn't been checked against a specific source. Confirm it with a Deaf instructor, an ASL class or a video-based ASL dictionary, especially before using it in an important conversation.