To sign “afternoon” in ASL, hold your dominant flat hand at a forward angle with the elbow resting on top of your non-dominant hand. The sign represents the sun’s position partway through its arc across the sky, past the midpoint but still above the horizon.
Handshape and Movement
Start by holding your non-dominant hand flat in front of your body, palm facing down. This base hand stays still throughout the sign and acts as a resting surface for your dominant arm.
Place the elbow of your dominant arm on the back of your non-dominant hand. Your dominant hand should be flat with fingers together, palm facing outward (away from you). Angle the dominant forearm so your hand points forward and slightly upward, roughly at a 45-degree angle from horizontal. Think of your non-dominant arm as the horizon and your dominant forearm as the sun’s ray pointing into the afternoon sky.
One key detail that trips up beginners: the angle of the dominant arm is what distinguishes “afternoon” from “evening.” For afternoon, hold your dominant hand noticeably higher. For evening, the hand drops lower, closer to horizontal, representing the sun sinking toward the horizon.
Where “Afternoon” Goes in a Sentence
ASL uses a time-first sentence structure. When you want to say something happened or will happen in the afternoon, sign “afternoon” at the beginning of the sentence before the rest of your thought. ASL verbs don’t change form to show tense the way English verbs do. Instead, placing a time sign like “afternoon” at the start tells your conversation partner when the action takes place, and that tense carries through the rest of the sentence.
For example, to say “I have class this afternoon,” you would sign AFTERNOON followed by the signs for your class reference. The time indicator does the work that words like “will” or “later” do in English.
Practice Tips
When practicing, check yourself in a mirror or use your phone’s front-facing camera. The most common error is letting the dominant arm droop too low, which shifts the meaning toward “evening.” Your forearm should sit at a clear upward angle, not flat or barely tilted.
Also pay attention to your palm orientation. The palm of your dominant hand faces out, not down or to the side. If your palm rotates inward, the sign looks muddled and can confuse a fluent signer. Keep your fingers together and your hand flat rather than cupped or spread.
Try signing “afternoon” alongside “morning” and “evening” in sequence. Morning uses a similar base-hand setup but positions the dominant arm lower, forearm nearly vertical, representing the sun rising. Practicing all three together helps your muscle memory lock in the specific angle that marks each time of day.