Cursive I
How to write uppercase I and lowercase i in cursive, one stroke at a time.
Compare I with J, l and T before tracing, or use the capital-only sheet below.
Cursive i is the letter everything else is measured against: one undercurve up, one slant down, one tail out, and a dot added afterward. Its stroke is the entry stroke for the whole undercurve group. The capital I, by contrast, is one of the odd-looking capitals — a tall, leaning stem with a wide curl at the bottom.
- Stroke family
- Undercurve letters
- Height
- i is a short letter — it stays between the baseline and the midline. i and the other short letters
- Joins the next letter
- Lowercase: yes, from the baseline. Capital: no — lift the pen. The baseline join i uses
Capital cursive I — numbers mark where each part of the stroke begins
How to write a capital I in cursive
Start inside the letter; finish at the midline, after a wide curl to the left (pen lifts). Capital I does not join the next letter: finish it, lift the pen, and begin the next letter on its own. I beside the other capitals that need a pen lift
- Start at the midline with a small hook and rise up and to the right to the top line, turning over in a small loop.
- From the point, come straight down the stem to the baseline, leaning right.
- Swing left along the baseline in a wide curl and bring it back up to finish at the midline.
Use capital I in words and names
Every time you write about yourself you write a capital I: in English the word I is always a capital, even in the middle of a sentence. Practise it on its own first, then use it in a short sentence or a name.
In the cursive on this site it starts just under the midline with a small hook, sweeps up to a small loop on the top line, comes down the stem, and finishes with a wide curl to the left that comes back up to the midline. It does not join the next letter: after the curl, lift the pen. When I is a word on its own, leave the usual gap after it, the same as between any two words.
Capital I with lines?
In print, a capital I is often written with short bars across the top and bottom so it cannot be read as a lowercase l or the number 1. This cursive model uses a top loop and bottom curl instead of those bars; other handwriting styles may differ. If your cursive I still looks like an l, check where it starts: I begins up near the midline, never down on the baseline.
A three-line check
- Write I and J side by side. Keep I on the baseline; let J go below it.
- Write I and lowercase l. Compare the starting point, not just the height.
- Write I am here without tracing. Leave a word space after I, then compare it with your model.
Make an I sentence sheet with A4 or US Letter lines, or use the name tool for your own name.
Both open with the same loop at the top. I stops on the baseline; J keeps going below it and closes a second loop. Capital J in cursive
T has a long stroke running along the top line, right across the stem, added as a separate stroke. I has no top stroke at all — only the small loop where its stem begins. Capital T in cursive
Lowercase l starts on the baseline and climbs in a loop to the top line before coming down and leaving to the right. Capital I starts up near the midline with a small hook and finishes with a wide curl to the left. Cursive l
Read back your capital I
Copy on paper, hide the model, then write once from memory. Show it again to compare. Tick only the checks you have actually made.
Compare it with the model's baseline. If it drops below the line like J, retry I on the next blank line. Compare capital J.
Read the sentence without tracing it with your finger. Keep the word I separate from am; this model's capital I does not join the following letter.
Write I am here once more on paper. Uncover the model and compare the capital and word spaces, rather than simply counting how many times you copied it.
0 of 3 checks recorded. Leave a check unticked if you want to try it again.
These are your own observations, not an automatic handwriting score. They reset when you leave or reload this page.
If the entry curve is hard to control, start with a few warm-up waves and loops. These checks apply to this site's original model; other handwriting styles may use different letterforms.
Capital I practice sheet
Choose capital I with sentences and names, or an I/J/l/T comparison drill. Each sheet prints on one US Letter page. These sheets use the original letterforms, placed separately rather than a continuous joined path.
Capital I in cursive
Model · trace · dotted · the word I · names
Name ______________________ Date __________
Capital I
The word I
Names
cursivealphabet.pro — free cursive practice sheets
Tell cursive I, J, l and T apart
Compare · trace · copy on your own
Name ______________________ Date __________
I stops at the baseline; J descends
Capital I and lowercase l
Capital I and capital T
Copy without tracing
cursivealphabet.pro — free cursive practice sheets
How to write a lowercase i in cursive
Start at the midline; finish at the baseline, with an exit tail. One continuous stroke, plus the dot.
- Start at the midline; in a word, the joining stroke from the letter before brings you there.
- Slant straight down to the baseline, keeping the same slant as the rest of the word.
- Finish with an undercurve to the midline.
- After the word is written, come back and place a dot directly above the letter, a little above the midline.
Trace cursive i on screen with a finger or mouse — the board tells you if you start in the wrong place or go the wrong way.
Lowercase cursive i — numbers mark where each part of the stroke begins
Common mistakes with cursive I
- Dotting the i as you go instead of after the word — that lift breaks the flow and the dot usually lands in the wrong place.
- Making a loop at the top: i comes straight down, or it becomes an e.
- Placing the dot too high; it belongs just above the midline, not up at the top line.
Tips that help
- Write a whole row of i's joined together and only then go back and dot them all.
- Keep every i the same height as the midline; uneven i's are the first thing that makes cursive look messy.
Easy to mistake for J
Both open with the same loop at the top. I stops on the baseline; J keeps going below it and closes a second loop. Cursive J
Can you tell I from J at a glance? Take the reading test · Print a comparison practice sheet
Cursive I, then and now
If you learned cursive from an older relative, or you are reading old handwriting, you may know this letter from the Palmer Method, the business hand that Zaner-Bloser eventually replaced in American schools. Here are the two side by side.
Palmer letters from A. N. Palmer’s The Palmer Method of Business Writing, a public-domain scan on Wikimedia Commons.
“Tysm ❤ but doesn't capital i and capital t look the same ? What should I do to prevent that?”
In today’s school styles
- Zaner-Bloser's capital I starts just below the baseline and ends with a horizontal stroke — the same finish as B, F, G, S and T.
- D'Nealian's capital I joins the next letter, because it is written backwards.
From Cursive Workshop’s letter-by-letter comparison.
Which one to use
I and T clash when both are written as a curl over a stem. Keep the difference at the top: T has a long stroke running along the top line, right across the stem; I has only the small loop where its stem begins.
Where Palmer, Zaner-Bloser and D’Nealian came from, and how their letters differ
Practice words with i
Once the letter is comfortable on its own, write it inside words — that is where the joins happen. Watch how the exit tail of i rises to meet the next letter.
Want different words? Type a spelling list into the generator and print your own i sheet (letters A–Z and numbers, up to 24 lines of any length, US Letter or A4), or copy more words that use i from the word lists.
Free cursive I worksheet
Capital I and lowercase i: a model to copy, grey letters to write over, dotted letters to trace, two practice words, and blank rows to finish on your own. Prints on one US Letter page.
Cursive I practice sheet
Uppercase I · lowercase i · ice · ink
Name ______________________ Date __________
Capital I
Lowercase i
Together
Words
On your own
cursivealphabet.pro — free cursive practice sheets
i and its stroke family
Undercurve letters begin with a stroke that swings up from the baseline: i, u, w, t, j, p, r, s, e, l, b, h, k and f. Learn i and u first — every other letter in the group is built on that same entry stroke.
Families are also the order to learn in, rather than A to Z: the beginner’s guide covers when i is usually taught and the four strokes every letter is built from.
Cursive I questions
How do you write a lowercase i in cursive?
Undercurve up to the midline, slant straight back down to the baseline, and undercurve out to the next letter. Dot it after you finish the word, just above the midline.
How do you write a capital I in cursive?
Start at the midline with a small hook, rise to the top line and turn over in a small loop, come straight down the stem, and swing round in a wide curl to the left that ends back at the midline. It does not connect to the next letter.
When do you dot the i in cursive?
After the whole word is written. Cursive is joined, so you keep the pen on the paper through the word and then go back to add dots and crosses.
What are some good words to practise cursive i with?
Good practice words for cursive i are ice, ink, inside, island and imagine. The join is what to watch: the undercurve out of i has to reach the baseline before the next letter starts, or the two run together. Watch the height too: i should stop at the midline, level with the short letters either side of it. The practice sheet on this page rules the first two, ice and ink; the worksheet generator will rule the rest.
Cursive Alphabet — cursive I