To sign cough in ASL, close your dominant hand into a fist with the palm facing down. Hold it in front of the center of your upper chest and move it against the chest in small, repeated movements, as if the chest is jolting. Keep the arm relaxed and the movement short.
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How to sign it
Handshape: a closed fist.
Location: in front of the center of the upper chest.
Movement: small, repeated movements against the chest.
Palm orientation: the palm faces down.
Use it in a sentence
DAD COUGH.
Dad has a cough.
Lifeprint shows three ways to sign cough and says none is more correct; one of them strikes the chest a couple of times with the thumb side of a fist, close to this video.
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Description checked against AISA's own video (the reference); Lifeprint (ASL University), lifeprint.com/asl101/pages-signs/c/cough.htm.
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