How to Say Thank You in Sign Language

I still remember the moment clearly.

I was twenty-two, backpacking through rural Thailand, stomach growling after a twelve-hour night bus. A grandmother I’d never met before handed me a steaming bowl of khao tom from her roadside fire.

I had no common spoken language with her—only a shy smile and two open hands pressed together at my heart, fingers pointing up, a small bow.

Her wrinkled face broke into the widest grin I’ve ever seen. In that instant, the words didn’t matter. The universal sign for “thank you” had already done its work.

A Quick Reference Table:

Language	Gesture Description	Cultural/Linguistic Note
American SL (ASL)	Fingers to lips → forward and down (like blowing a kiss)	Rooted in French Sign Language; the motion mimics “beautiful from the mouth”
British SL (BSL)	Index finger touches chin, then moves forward	Same root as Auslan and New Zealand SL; the chin touch shows respect
French SL (LSF)	Fingers to lips → forward (identical to old ASL)	Considered the “mother” of many sign languages; carried by Clerc to America in 1816
Japanese Sign Language	Hands flat, palms together, slight bow (like prayer)	Deeply influenced by cultural bowing; gratitude and apology share similar roots
Korean Sign Language	Open hand to chest, slight bow	Emphasizes sincerity from the heart
Chinese Sign Language	Index finger to nose → forward arc	The nose represents the “self”; moving away = giving gratitude outward
Auslan (Australian)	Same as BSL (index to chin → forward)	Direct descendant of BSL brought by deaf immigrants in the 19th century
Langue des Signes Québécoise (LSQ)	Fingers to chin → forward, palm up	Unique blend of ASL and LSF influences
Irish Sign Language	Two hands flat, palms down, move downward twice	Reflects Irish cultural humility and understatement
Mexican Sign Language (LSM)	Fingers to lips → outward circle	Warmer, more circular motion reflecting Latin cultural expressiveness
Arabic Sign Language (ArSL – unified)	Hand to heart, then slight forward push	Strong emphasis on the heart as the seat of emotion
South African Sign Language (SASL)	Fingers to lips → forward and down (ASL-influenced)	Heavy influence from American and British missionaries
Brazilian SL (Libras)	Fingers to chin → forward arc	Influenced by French SL; chin touch shows respect like in Portuguese culture
International Sign (IS)	Hand to chin or lips → forward (varies by presenter)	A pidgin used at deaf conferences; blends the most common gestures
Inuit Sign Language (IUR)	Tap chest twice with open hand	Rare endangered language; gratitude is shown over the heart, no facial distinction

European Sign Languages

In much of Europe, “thank you” traces its roots back to French Sign Language (LSF). When Laurent Clerc brought LSF to America in 1816, he unknowingly exported the elegant “fingers-to-lips” gesture that would become ASL’s thank you. In Italy (LIS), the gesture is almost theatrical—hand dramatically from lips outward, matching the expressive Italian soul.

In Germany (DGS), it’s crisper, more contained: a quick touch to the chin and away. Yet every European variant shares one thing—gratitude begins near the face, as if to say, “This feeling starts with me and goes to you.”

Asian Sign Languages

Asia is a continent of bows, and sign language reflects that. In Japan, Korea, and Thailand (Thai Sign Language), the prayer-like namaste position is common—palms pressed together, sometimes with a small bow of the head. In Chinese Sign Language, the finger starts at the nose (representing the self) before sweeping outward, a beautiful visual metaphor: gratitude leaves the self and travels to another.

Even in countries that use very different spoken languages, the physical language of gratitude keeps circling back to humility and the heart.

African Sign Languages

Africa is home to over 100 documented sign languages—many still under-researched. In Ethiopian Sign Language, “thank you” is a warm hand-to-chest pat followed by a forward motion, mirroring the communal spirit of Ethiopian coffee ceremonies.

In Tunisian Sign Language, it’s a gentle salute from forehead to the person you’re thanking—an echo of Arabic spoken customs. Across the continent, one theme repeats: gratitude is never just between two people; it’s offered in front of (and sometimes on behalf of) the whole community.

Indigenous & Island Sign Languages

In Hawai‘i, Hawaiian Sign Language (HSL—now critically endangered) used a simple open hand to the heart. Māori deaf people in New Zealand often use the same BSL-derived gesture as the hearing population’s “kia ora” spirit—practical, no-nonsense, deeply respectful.

In the Yucatec Maya village sign language of Chican (Mexico), gratitude is shown by touching the chin and then opening the hand toward the giver—an ancient gesture that predates the arrival of European sign systems by centuries.

Cultural Insights

Historians believe the “fingers-to-lips” motion may date back to 18th-century French salons, where it was considered refined to blow a kiss of thanks. But long before that, indigenous cultures worldwide already had hand-to-heart gestures. The heart and the mouth—two places we instinctively touch when we feel something deeply—became the universal canvas for gratitude.

In religious contexts, the Muslim hand-to-heart after “shukran,” the Christian sign of the cross that sometimes morphs into a thank-you motion, the Buddhist anjali mudra—all of these spoken and signed traditions drink from the same well: gratitude is sacred.

Proverbs and Sayings About Gratitude Across Cultures

• Japan: “One kind word can warm three winter months.”
• Ethiopia (Amharic): “One who eats alone dies alone.”
• Mexico: “Gracias a la vida” – Thanks to life itself (made famous by Violeta Parra).
• Ireland (Irish proverb): “A person’s mouth often broke his nose” – be careful what you say, but always say thank you.
• Yoruba (Nigeria): “Ẹ ṣé” means both “thank you” and “well done”—praising effort is gratitude.
• Lakota (Native American): “Mitákuye Oyás’iŋ” – We are all related; every thank you acknowledges connection.

FAQs :

Q: Why do so many sign languages touch the lips or chin?

A: The mouth is where spoken gratitude comes from; the chin is a polite European substitute (avoiding the lips was once seen as too intimate).

Q: Is there truly a universal “thank you” sign?

A: Not exactly, but hand-to-heart or hand-to-lips motions appear independently in dozens of unrelated sign languages—probably because they feel natural.

Q: What’s the oldest recorded thank-you gesture?

A: Cave paintings in Indonesia (45,000 years old) show open hands raised in what some anthropologists interpret as gratitude or offering.

Q: Why do some cultures bow while signing thank you?

A: In high-context cultures (especially East Asia), lowering the head shows you’re placing the other person above yourself for a moment—pure respect.

Final Thought

Whether it’s fingers fluttering away from the lips in Paris, a hand pressed over a beating heart in Nairobi, or palms pressed together under a Pacific sky, the sign for “thank you” does something spoken words sometimes fail to do: it makes gratitude visible.

Next time you sign or say “thank you,” imagine millions of hands around the world moving at the exact same moment—different shapes, same meaning.

Now I want to hear from you.What’s “thank you” in your sign language?How do you show gratitude in your culture when words aren’t enough?

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