How to sign “Please” in BSL

Greetings & Politeness

BSL and ASL are different languages — this is the British sign. See the ASL sign for “Please” instead

Step by step

  1. Touch the fingertips of your flat dominant hand to your chin.
  2. Move your hand slightly forward and away from your face.
  3. Mouth the word 'please' silently as you sign, since this is what distinguishes it from 'thank you'.

Practice tip

'Please' and 'thank you' share the same manual sign in BSL; the mouth pattern carries the meaning.

Fingerspell “Please”

Letter by letter with the two-handed BSL alphabet — a handy backup if you forget the sign above. This is not the sign itself.

BSL two-handed handshape for letter PBSL two-handed handshape for letter LBSL two-handed handshape for letter EBSL two-handed handshape for letter ABSL two-handed handshape for letter SBSL two-handed handshape for letter E

See all BSL handshapes in the alphabet reference

Text-based guide researched from BSL-specific references (BSL SignBank, BDA-adjacent teaching materials and BSL dictionaries) and rewritten in original words. Signer-created photos and videos are a planned future upgrade. BSL has regional variation — this is the most widely taught form.

Related BSL signs

Browse all 340 BSL signs in the dictionary