How to sign
Three in ASL
Three is the thumb, index, and middle finger extended. Not the three fingers you'd hold up in a restaurant; the thumb counts.
- Single sign
- One hand
- Handshape: 3 hand
- Shoulder height
- Numbers
How to sign three
- 1
Extend the thumb, index, and middle fingers.
- 2
Keep the ring finger and pinky down.
- 3
Palm toward you when counting.
Common mistakes
- Using index, middle, and ring fingers. That's the letter W.
Keep going
More numbers signs
Questions about “Three”
Yes. This clip shows the common ASL sign for three. Like spoken languages, ASL has regional variation, so you may see small differences from signer to signer.
Guide
ASL Numbers
Count from zero to one hundred in ASL. Video for every number, the palm-orientation rule that trips up beginners, and the patterns that make 20 to 99 easy.
From the blog
The First 50 ASL Signs to Learn (and Why These 50)
A teacher-picked starter vocabulary: greetings, replies, pronouns, question words, and feelings that let you hold a real first conversation. Every sign on video.