ASL Sign Language Dictionary
ASL Sign Language Dictionary — Learn sign language with written hand-shape descriptions and spaced-repetition review
ASL Sign Language Dictionary is a free Android app to learn sign language, specifically American Sign Language: the 26-letter fingerspelling alphabet and 102 everyday signs, each taught as a clear written description of the hand-shape, the movement and where it sits on your body. There is no video and no illustration. You read a sign once, form it with your own hands, grade yourself, and spaced-repetition review brings it back until it sticks.
- Price
- Free, Pro upgrade
- Platforms
- Android
- Languages
- 10
Text you follow with your own hands, not a video to watch.
ASL Sign Language Dictionary is built on written descriptions, which is also its limit: a description cannot show the speed and facial expression of fluent signing. It works best as a dictionary and a memory trainer next to a class, a Deaf teacher or a signing friend.
What it is
ASL Sign Language Dictionary is a free Android app that teaches American Sign Language (ASL) through written descriptions rather than video. It covers the A to Z fingerspelling alphabet and 102 signs across nine categories, including greetings, family and friends, feelings, food and drink, numbers, colors, daily phrases and questions. A searchable dictionary, self-graded flashcards with spaced repetition, a quick quiz and a text-only AI Coach help the signs stay learned. It works offline and needs no account.
Inside the app
What it looks like
Background
Is sign language universal, and how do you start learning ASL?
No. Sign languages are not one universal language: American Sign Language is its own language with its own grammar, distinct from British Sign Language, Turkish Sign Language and every other national sign language, and it is used across the United States and Canada. Most beginners start with the fingerspelling alphabet, which lets you spell a name or an unknown word, then add a few dozen everyday signs and revisit them often. Because ASL is a visual language, learning with Deaf signers or a teacher, and watching real signing, matters alongside any app.
Fingerspellingthe alphabet on one hand
Each letter has its own hand-shape, used to spell names and words without a sign of their own. It is usually the first thing taught, and fluency comes from reading and producing the letters smoothly rather than one at a time.
The parts of a signhand-shape, movement and place
A sign is defined by the shape of the hand, how it moves and where it is made on the body or in space. Two signs can share a hand-shape and differ only in the place or the movement, which is a common source of mix-ups.
Spaced repetitionreviewing at growing intervals
A review method that brings material back just as it is about to be forgotten. Signs you find hard return sooner and signs you know well return later, which makes short daily sessions more efficient than rereading a list.
Grammar and expressionwhat a glossary cannot show
ASL grammar uses space, movement and facial expression, not just a string of single signs. A vocabulary trainer builds the building blocks, and conversation with signers builds the grammar.
How it works
How a session works
Open the Learn tab for structured units, or go straight to a word in the Dictionary. Your first session is the whole idea in small: read a sign, do it, mark it, and the streak starts.
Read how to sign it
Tap a sign to read exactly how to form it, with the hand-shape, the movement and the placement written out step by step. For example, Thank you is described as a flat hand that starts at the chin and moves forward and slightly down toward the person.
Self-grade it
After forming the sign with your own hands, mark it Got it or Still learning. That answer tells the scheduler how soon the sign should come back.
Come back to the due queue
A due today queue shows the signs that need another look, with hardest signs first in line. A daily streak and an optional reminder keep the habit visible, and a quick quiz asks you to match a written hand-shape description to the right word.
What's inside
What is in the app
102
Signs, all readable free
The complete fingerspelling alphabet plus vocabulary across nine categories, each with a written description of how to sign it.
A to Z
Fingerspelling alphabet
Alphabet units split into A to I, J to R and S to Z, so you can build up to spelling your own name.
SRS
Spaced-repetition review
Self-graded flashcards, a due today queue and a daily streak. Free covers the Alphabet A to I and Greetings units, and Pro extends it to all 102 signs.
AI
AI Coach, text only
Name two signs you keep mixing up for a written breakdown of what differs, or ask for a learning path from your goal and level. No camera is involved, and free accounts get three questions a month.
Offline
Works without a connection
The entire glossary is bundled in the app, and you can start as a guest with progress kept on your device.
Search
Dictionary with category filters
Search the full 102-sign set or filter by category, and see signs mastered, signs reviewed and streak history per category.
Fit
Who it's for — and who it isn't
A good fit if you
- Have a Deaf family member, coworker or friend and want to greet them properly
- Are a parent whose child is starting ASL and want to learn alongside them
- Want to fingerspell your own name without hesitating
- Study ASL and want real spaced repetition instead of a word list read once
- Like to learn from clear written steps and to practise offline
Not the right tool if you
- Want video or animated demonstrations, because the app has no video and no illustrations
- Expect to become conversational from an app alone, since grammar and facial expression need live practice
- Want a different sign language, as the app teaches ASL only
- Want spaced-repetition review across all 102 signs for free, which is part of Pro
Questions
Frequently asked questions
What is the best app to learn ASL if it has no videos?
An app without video has to describe a sign precisely and then make you recall it repeatedly. ASL Sign Language Dictionary writes out the hand-shape, movement and placement of 102 signs and the fingerspelling alphabet, and reviews them with spaced repetition. It cannot show how signing looks in motion, so it suits learners who also watch real signers.
Is sign language the same in every country?
No. ASL is its own language with its own grammar, distinct from British Sign Language, Turkish Sign Language and other national sign languages. ASL Sign Language Dictionary teaches ASL specifically, the sign language used across the United States and Canada.
How do I learn the ASL alphabet?
Learn the 26 letters in small groups and practise spelling short words and your own name. ASL Sign Language Dictionary splits the fingerspelling alphabet into A to I, J to R and S to Z, describes each hand-shape in writing, and brings back the letters you find hard through spaced repetition.
How can a written description teach a sign?
It tells you the three things that define a sign: the hand-shape, the movement and where the sign is made. ASL Sign Language Dictionary writes these out in plain language so you can read once and reproduce it with your hands, then self-grade as Got it or Still learning. Mistakes are common, so comparing with a signer is worthwhile.
What does the AI Coach do?
When two signs keep blurring together, such as Mother and Father, you name them and the coach explains in writing what differs in hand-shape, movement and orientation. You can also ask for a learning path based on your goal and level. It is a text coach with no camera, and free accounts get three questions a month.
Does ASL Sign Language Dictionary work offline?
Yes. The whole glossary is bundled in the app, so you can read signs and review them with no connection. The AI Coach is the one part that needs one.
Is ASL Sign Language Dictionary free?
The app is free on Google Play. The Dictionary is entirely free, so you can read the description of every one of the 102 signs at any time. Free also includes spaced-repetition review and quizzing on the Alphabet A to I and Greetings units, your full progress history and three AI Coach questions a month. Pro extends review and quizzing to all 102 signs, lets you focus a session on one category, gives unlimited AI Coach questions and removes ads.
Is there an iPhone version?
Not at the moment. ASL Sign Language Dictionary is available on Android through Google Play, and this page links only to that listing.
Get started
Read your first sign today
Free to start on Android, with 102 signs and no account needed.
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