How to sign “Write” in BSL
BSL and ASL are different languages — this is the British sign. See the ASL sign for “Write” instead
Step by step
- Hold your non-dominant hand flat in front of you, palm facing up like paper.
- Pinch your dominant index fingertip against your thumb, as if holding a pen.
- Make small side-to-side scribbling motions across the open palm surface.
- Keep your dominant palm angled sideways and the strokes quick and light.
- Keep the writing hand moving — a still pen on a palm reads as pointing.
Practice tip
The same writing motion covers pen, pencil and scribble — the tool is in the handshape.
Fingerspell “Write”
Letter by letter with the two-handed BSL alphabet — a handy backup if you forget the sign above. This is not the sign itself.
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.