Handshape.
An ASL dictionary I designed and engineered from scratch — search by handshape, location, and movement when you don't know the English word — plus a live fingerspelling trainer that reads your hand through the front camera, entirely on-device.
Designed & Engineered by David MacMillan.
Start with the sign, find the meaning
Most dictionaries assume you already know the English word. Handshape flips it: see a sign in the wild, match the handshape, and find its meaning in seconds — whether you're a lifelong signer or learning your first handshape.
Match the handshape
Tap the handshape you saw. Handshape narrows thousands of signs down to a handful instantly.
Confirm the movement
Refine by location and motion — chin, chest, a flick or a circle — until the right sign surfaces.
Learn it for good
Every entry pairs the sign with its English meaning, usage, and related signs — so browsing builds fluency.
Features
A dictionary that teaches you to browse.
Handshape is incredibly accessible and beautifully designed, making the path from curiosity to fluency feel natural.
Search by Sign
Start from what you see, not what you can spell. Filter by handshape, location, and movement to find a sign you can't yet name.
Built for Discovery
Wander, don't just look up. Curated paths and related signs turn an idle search into a real lesson, no curriculum required.
ASL as a First-Class Language
ASL isn't English on the hands — it has its own grammar, regions, and life. Handshape treats it that way, with native phonology (handshape, location, movement) at the core of every entry, not bolted on as a translation.
Accessible by Design
VoiceOver-first, high-contrast, and Dynamic Type throughout. Built with the Deaf and hard-of-hearing community, not just for them.
From Curiosity to Fluency
Save signs, build personal sets, and revisit them. The path from "what was that sign?" to confident conversation feels natural.
“Languages are just complex systems. Whether you're mapping the visual parameters of an ASL sign or orchestrating agentic systems, the core skill is identical: understanding how smaller components combine to create meaning.”
— David MacMillan