More animals
Fourteen animals, each named by one feature — and a few honest 'we don't know's.
Focus
Pick the depictable feature
HORSE is an ear, LION a mane, ELEPHANT a trunk, MOUSE a twitching nose. ASL doesn't draw the whole animal; it seizes the one thing a hand can show. Minimal pairs abound: HORSE and COW share the temple; LION and TIGER share the claw.
Where iconicity runs out
PIG and FROG are well attested and widely explained, and none of the explanations are sourced. They are marked unknown. Not every sign has a story we can stand behind, and saying so is part of learning honestly.
Signs in this lesson
Open any sign for its full history, sources and minimal pairs.
Rest the thumb of a 'U' hand at your temple and flap the two fingers forward twice.
Rest the thumb of a flat hand at your temple and flap the fingers forward, like a long ear.
Hold a flat hand under your chin, palm down, and flap the fingers down and up.
At your mouth, snap the index and middle fingers against the thumb like a wide beak.
Hold a fist under your chin and flick the index and middle fingers out twice.
Start a bent flat hand at your nose and sweep it down and out in the curve of a trunk.
Sweep a claw hand back over the top of your head, from forehead toward the crown.
Hold both claw hands in front of your face and draw them outward toward the cheeks, twice.
Flick the tip of your index finger across the tip of your nose a couple of times.
Hold two 'O' hands in front of your eyes like a pair of round glasses and twist them slightly.
Draw both '4' hands across your chest from the center outward, like stripes.
Hold a 'C' hand at the front of your neck and raise it straight up above your head.
Place a claw hand over your nose and pull it forward, closing into a flat 'O' — a long snout.
Pinch an 'F' hand against your cheek (the sting), then brush the cheek with a flat hand (swatting it away).
Touch the thumb of a '3' hand to your nose and bend the index and middle fingers twice.
Stack two claw hands, palms facing, and snap them open and shut like jaws.
Watch out for
Pairs in this lesson that learners mix up — the drill will test exactly these.
- DONKEY / HORSE — Same place and flap; DONKEY uses the whole flat hand, HORSE just two fingers.
- LION / TIGER — Both use claw hands at the head. LION sweeps one hand back over the crown; TIGER draws two hands out across the face.