Every "first signs" list on the internet is a little different, and most are built around what is easy to film rather than what is useful to say. This list is built around one question: what fifty signs let you hold a real first conversation with a Deaf person who is patient with beginners?
The answer is not fifty nouns. It is greetings, replies, pronouns, question words, a handful of verbs, and enough feelings to answer "how are you" honestly. Every sign below is on video; tap any of them.
Greetings and politeness (10)
These ten are the whole first exchange. Hello, My Name Is and your fingerspelled name, Nice To Meet You, How Are You?, I'm Fine, and Bye. Please, Thank You, and Sorry are the manners; Excuse Me gets you through a crowd. The full breakdown is in the greetings guide.
Replies (8)
Conversations are mostly small replies. Yes and No with the head. Ok, Maybe, and Don't Know for everything in between. Again, Wait, and Understand keep a conversation going when you are lost, which as a beginner is often.
Pronouns (5)
Five signs cover almost every English pronoun because ASL pronouns are pointing. I is also ME. He is also SHE, HIM, HER, and IT. The possessives are the same points with a flat hand. The pronouns guide explains the system.
Question words (6)
With these six and lowered eyebrows you can ask anything. Remember the question word goes at the end: BATHROOM WHERE, not WHERE BATHROOM. See question words.
Verbs (9)
Want and Like let you express preferences. Help is the one everyone needs. Eat and Drink are the base of a dozen food phrases. Go is movement, Know and have are the glue of simple sentences, and Learn is what you are doing.
Feelings (6)
Good and Bad answer most questions. Happy, Sad, and Tired are the feelings you will actually report. Hungry gets you lunch. Match your face to each one; the feelings guide shows how.
People and things (6)
Name for introductions. Friend for who you are with. Family, Home, Work, and School for where your life happens. With these and a few feelings, you can answer "what's new?"
Why not the alphabet?
The alphabet is twenty-six signs on its own, and you should absolutely learn it; it is the subject of our alphabet guide. We left it off this list because the list is about conversation, and fingerspelling is what you fall back on when conversation runs out. Learn both. Start with the fifty here and the alphabet in parallel.
How to learn these in a week
Ten signs a day, in the groups above. Watch each clip, sign along three times, then test yourself by covering the name and watching the video. On day six, put them together: greet, introduce, ask a question, answer with a feeling, say goodbye. On day seven, do it in a mirror without looking anything up.
The Ziggy app runs exactly this progression with recognition drills and review, if you want it structured. Either way, fifty signs is a real foundation, and you can have it by next weekend.
