Cursive O

How to write uppercase O and lowercase o in cursive, one stroke at a time.

Cursive o is a closed oval that finishes at the top, which makes it a bridge letter: the exit is a short level stroke at the midline rather than a tail from the baseline. That changes how the next letter begins, so "ov", "or" and "os" are worth practising. The capital O is the same oval grown to the top line, with a small loop at the top.

Stroke family: Downcurve (oval) letters
Height: o is a short letter — it stays between the baseline and the midline. o and the other short letters
Joins the next letter: Lowercase: yes, from the midline (bridge). Capital: no — lift the pen. The bridge join o uses
Often confused with: cursive a, cursive u, cursive c

Print the O practice sheet Stroke by stroke

Cursive O and o: the pen path, drawn in order

How to write a lowercase o in cursive

Start at the midline; finish at the midline, with a short bridge stroke. One continuous stroke.

Start at the midline. Curve back to the left and down (counter-clockwise) to the baseline.
Round along the bottom and up the right side, closing the oval back at the midline.
At the top, make a tiny loop and continue with a short level bridge to the right for the next letter.

Lowercase cursive o — numbers mark where each part of the stroke begins

Capital cursive O

How to write a capital O in cursive

Start at the top line; finish at the top line, with a small loop (pen lifts). Capital O does not join the next letter: finish it, lift the pen, and begin the next letter on its own. O beside the other capitals that need a pen lift

Start at the top line. Curve to the left and sweep down (counter-clockwise) to the baseline.
Round along the bottom and back up the right side to the top line, closing the oval.
Finish with a small loop at the top that points to the right.

How to write cursive O: the pen path for uppercase O and lowercase o on ruled paper, with numbered steps on the lowercase o — Cursive O pen path — numbers on the lowercase o mark where each part begins; arrows show the direction.

Cursive O: uppercase O and lowercase o on ruled paper — Cursive O and o — blue top line, dashed midline, red baseline.

Common mistakes with cursive O

Exiting from the baseline instead of the midline, which turns o into an a.
Leaving the oval open at the top, which makes it read as u.
Making the bridge stroke too long, so a gap opens before the next letter.

Tips that help

o is a with no stem: same oval, same slant, but the stroke keeps going over the top instead of dropping down.
Letters after o start at the midline — "on" and "om" begin their hump straight from the bridge.

Practice words with o

Once the letter is comfortable on its own, write it inside words — that is where the joins happen. Because o is a bridge letter, watch how the letter after it starts from the midline.

owl

open

orange

ocean

over

Want different words? Type a spelling list into the generator and print your own o sheet (letters A–Z and numbers, up to 24 lines of any length, US Letter or A4), or copy more words that use o from the word lists.

Free cursive O worksheet

Capital O and lowercase o: 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.

Prints on one US Letterpage. Choose “Save as PDF” in the print dialog to download.

Cursive O practice sheet

Uppercase O · lowercase o · owl · open

Name ______________________ Date __________

Capital O

Lowercase o

Together

Words

On your own

cursivealphabet.pro — free cursive practice sheets

o and its stroke family

Downcurve (oval) letters begin at the midline with a counter-clockwise curve that rounds down and back up: a, d, g, o and q close the oval, c leaves it open. Master that curve once and you have six letters.

Families are also the order to learn in, rather than A to Z: the beginner’s guide covers when o is usually taught and the four strokes every letter is built from.

← Cursive N Cursive P →O in the whole alphabet

Cursive O questions

How do you write a lowercase o in cursive?

Start at the midline, curve counter-clockwise around to the baseline and back up to close the oval, then finish with a tiny loop and a short level bridge at the midline. It is one stroke that ends high.

How do you write a capital O in cursive?

Draw a large oval from the top line counter-clockwise down to the baseline and back up, closing at the top with a small loop. Capital O does not connect to the next letter.

Why does cursive o connect at the top?

Because the oval closes where it began, at the midline, so the exit stroke leaves from there. o, b, v and w are the four bridge letters; the letter after them starts from the midline.

What are some good words to practise cursive o with?

Good practice words for cursive o are owl, open, orange, ocean and over. Close the oval of o each time before you move on; an oval left open at speed is the usual way it stops reading as o. Watch the height too: o should stop at the midline, level with the short letters either side of it. The practice sheet on this page rules the first two, owl and open; the worksheet generator will rule the rest.