How to Sign “Don’t Like” in ASL: Baby Sign Language Guide

“Don’t like” turns protest into communication. It starts exactly like “like,” then throws the feeling away — a contrast toddlers find genuinely funny once they spot it.

How to Sign “Don’t Like” in ASL

ASL sign for don't like, step 1: open hand at the chest with middle finger and thumb extended
ASL sign for don't like, step 2: hand flicked open away from the body, palm down

Photos: Rodasmith via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

  1. Start like “like”: Hand on your chest, thumb and middle finger extended.
  2. Pull out: Draw the hand away from your chest.
  3. Flick it away: Snap the fingers open and toss the hand outward, palm down, like discarding something.

Like grabs the feeling and keeps it; don’t-like grabs it and throws it away. Show both back-to-back and the meaning teaches itself.

Step-by-Step Photos

ASL sign for don't like, step 1: open hand at the chest with middle finger and thumb extended
Step 1: Start with your hand at your chest, like the sign for “like.”
ASL sign for don't like, step 2: hand flicked open away from the body, palm down
Step 2: Flick the fingers open and toss the hand away from you.

Photos: Rodasmith via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

When to Use It With Your Child

  • At refused foods: Calmly name it — “you don’t like broccoli today” — with the sign.
  • In play: Have a puppet dramatically reject silly things; rejection is hilarious to toddlers.
  • At real limits: When they push something away, give them the sign for what their body just said.

Tips for Success

  • Model it neutrally — it is information, not naughtiness.
  • A whole-hand push-away gesture counts as a first version.
  • Respect it when reasonably possible; a sign that works is a sign that grows.

Signs Related to “Don’t Like”

“Like” is the same sign kept instead of tossed, and “all done” covers the mealtime version. “Yucky” often joins this set for taste protests specifically.

Negation pairs like like/don’t-like demonstrate a core ASL pattern — many negative signs are the positive sign plus a reversing or throwing-away movement.