Seattle Central Community College - Deaf Studies Program                                                                                             BACK

ASL 121 Numbers 1 - 100

You can view/copy a VHS video in the ASL/ITP Lab or view it in the Library.

 Numbers 1 - 9 - Label and Cardinal Forms

Label numbers indicate an arbitrary identifier.
For numbers 1 - 5 have the palm facing away from you.  For example: ROOM 5 = "Room #5"

Cardinal numbers indicate quantity or volume.  They are sometimes called "counting numbers".
For numbers 1 - 5 have the palm facing towards you. For example:  ROOM 5  = "five rooms".

 

  Numbers 10 - 19 - Formal and Casual Forms

Numbers 11 - 15 are actually variations of combining the sign "10" with a number 1 - 5, but over the many years the formal form has been lost and only the casual form remains.  Occasionally you will still see a formal form - especially for 13, 14 or 15 (not shown here).

Numbers 16 - 19 still use the formal form ("10" +  6 - 9), but there are two casual forms as well.  You will see all three forms on this video.

 

  Numbers 20 - 30 - Formal and Casual Forms

Numbers 20 - 25 are created by combining the sign "L" with a number 1 - 5.  There are formal and casual forms - the casual form is reduplicated (repeated).

For example:
"20" is a reduplicated form of "L" + "0".
"21" is a reduplicated form of "L" + "1".
And so on.

"22" is the exception - see the double numbers video below to see why "22" uses the "2" hand shape and not the "L" hand shape.

Numbers 24, 26 - 29 use the most common form of double numbers.

   Common Double Numbers - 22, 33, 44, etc.

Double numbers are palm down - duplicated double numbers have a palm-down orientation and are "bounced" with a slight movement to the side of the body.  Pretty straight forward.

 

  Double Numbers containing 6, 7, 8, or 9

Numbers with a "twist" - You know how hard it is to see the difference between "7" and "8", or "6" and "9"?

Well Deaf people have figured out a pretty cool way to help you know which numbers are being shown and in which order.

The hand is twisted from one side to the other depending on which side of the hand the first and second finger is.

For example:  "69" starts with the little finger side ("6") and twists to the index finger side ("9").

The twisting movement is used with these numbers:
67, 68, 69      76, 78, 79     86, 87, 89     96, 97, 98
  

  Common Double Numbers

The most common double number is created very simply.  Sign the first number, then second.

For example, "47" is signed "4" + "7".

Sometimes you will see a movement with these signs, either a slight slide to the side of the body, or a slight movement forward.