The cursive alphabet, all 26 letters
Lower case, upper case, and what happens when the letters hold hands. One chart you can print and pin above the desk.
Print this page for a one-sheet reference, or open the generator to practise a single letter at a larger size.
What makes it cursive
Not the loops. What makes writing cursive is that the pen leaves the paper as little as possible: each letter ends where the next one begins. That is why the same letter can look slightly different in cat and in cold — the exit stroke bends toward whatever comes next.
Three families cover almost the whole alphabet:
- Wave letters — c, a, d, g, q, o: enter at the baseline, round up, and exit at the top right.
- Needle letters — i, u, w, t, j: straight down, straight back up, dot or cross afterwards.
- Loops — e, l, h, k, b, f: the loop is a height marker, not decoration. A loop that is too tall makes the word look uneven.
Capitals do not join
Most cursive programmes teach capitals as stand-alone letters: you lift the pen after the capital and start the lower-case letter fresh. The exception taught in some schools is a joining stroke from letters like C and L. Either style is fine as long as it is consistent — mixed habits are what make children's writing look untidy.
Sizing rules that do the work for you
Small letters sit between the baseline and the dashed midline. Tall letters (b, d, h, k, l, t) touch the top line. Descenders (g, j, p, q, y, z, f) drop below the baseline. When a child's writing looks messy, the cause is usually one of these three heights drifting, not the shape of the letter.
Also: all 26 letters · why letters join · the generator