Learn
Start with fingerspelling
Fingerspelling is the fastest way in. Signers use it constantly — for names, places and any word without its own sign — so it is useful from the first day.
How to practise with the camera
- Open the translator and choose Sign → Text.
- Press Start camera and allow access. Good light in front of you, plain wall behind.
- Hold one handshape steady. The ring fills, then the letter is added to your sentence.
- Show an open palm to add a space. Use the word suggestions to finish a word without spelling it all.
One-handed alphabet
This is the American (ASL) manual alphabet, which the recogniser uses. Indian Sign Language fingerspelling is two-handed and differs by region — see the note below.
| Letter | Handshape |
|---|---|
| A | Fist, thumb resting along the side |
| B | Four fingers straight up, thumb across the palm |
| C | Whole hand curved into a C |
| D | Index up, other fingertips meeting the thumb |
| E | Fingers curled down onto the thumb |
| F | Thumb and index touching, three fingers up |
| G | Index and thumb extended, pointing sideways |
| H | Index and middle out sideways together |
| I | Little finger up, rest closed |
| J | Little finger up, then draws a J |
| K | Index up, middle out, thumb between them |
| L | Thumb and index at a right angle |
| M | Thumb tucked under three fingers |
| N | Thumb tucked under two fingers |
| O | Fingertips meeting the thumb in a circle |
| P | K shape pointing downward |
| Q | G shape pointing downward |
| R | Index and middle crossed |
| S | Fist, thumb across the front |
| T | Thumb between index and middle |
| U | Index and middle up together |
| V | Index and middle up, apart |
| W | Index, middle and ring up |
| X | Index bent into a hook |
| Y | Thumb and little finger out |
| Z | Index draws a Z in the air |
What the recogniser can and cannot see
The camera side reads 21 hand landmarks and matches them against geometric rules. It handles still handshapes in reasonable light. It reliably reads:
A B C D E F I K L O R S U V W Y plus 1, 5 and the ILY sign.
It cannot read letters that need motion — J and Z — because those are defined by the path the hand travels, not its shape. R and U differ only by crossed fingers and are easy to confuse.
About Indian Sign Language
ISL is a full language with its own grammar. It is not signed English, and it is not the same as ASL. Its fingerspelling uses both hands, and vocabulary varies between regions and between schools. India recognised ISL formally through the Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre, and there is a national ISL dictionary — use it as your reference over anything generated here.