Cursive U

How to write uppercase U and lowercase u in cursive, one stroke at a time.

Cursive u is two i's without the dots — undercurve up, slant down, undercurve up, slant down, tail. It is the mirror image of n: where n arches over the top, u dips under. The capital U is the same shape scaled to the top line.

Stroke family: Undercurve letters
Height: u is a short letter — it stays between the baseline and the midline. u and the other short letters
Joins the next letter: Lowercase: yes, from the baseline. Capital: yes. The baseline join u uses
Often confused with: cursive n, cursive w, cursive v

Print the U practice sheet Stroke by stroke

Cursive U and u: the pen path, drawn in order

How to write a lowercase u in cursive

Start at the baseline; finish at the baseline, with an exit tail. One continuous stroke.

Start on the baseline with an undercurve up to the midline.
Slant down to the baseline.
Undercurve up to the midline again, slant down to the baseline, and finish with an undercurve to the midline.

Lowercase cursive u

Capital cursive U

How to write a capital U in cursive

Start at the baseline; finish at the baseline, with an exit tail. Capital U ends with an exit stroke, so it joins the lowercase letter that follows without lifting the pen. U beside the other capitals that join

Start on the baseline with an undercurve that rises to the top line.
Slant down, curving at the bottom, to the baseline and up the other side to the top line.
Slant straight down to the baseline and finish with an undercurve to the midline.

How to write cursive U: the pen path for uppercase U and lowercase u with direction arrows on ruled paper — Cursive U pen path — arrows show the direction the pen travels.

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

Common mistakes with cursive U

Rounding the bottom too much, so u becomes a wide bowl and looks like a v-and-u blend.
Making the two upstrokes different heights.
Adding a dot out of habit — u never gets one.

Tips that help

Write "iu" and "ui": the strokes are identical, only the dot changes.
The space between the two stems should be the width of an o.

The pen path on this page is traced from the letterform automatically, and for u the trace did not come out as the single continuous stroke it is taught with — so the drawing shows the path in one colour, without numbers or arrows, rather than claiming a stroke order it cannot verify.

Practice words with u

Once the letter is comfortable on its own, write it inside words — that is where the joins happen. Watch how the exit tail of u rises to meet the next letter.

use

under

uncle

umbrella

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

Free cursive U worksheet

Capital U and lowercase u: 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 U practice sheet

Uppercase U · lowercase u · up · use

Name ______________________ Date __________

Capital U

Lowercase u

Together

Words

On your own

cursivealphabet.pro — free cursive practice sheets

u 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 u is usually taught and the four strokes every letter is built from.

← Cursive T Cursive V →U in the whole alphabet

Cursive U questions

How do you write a lowercase u in cursive?

Undercurve up to the midline, slant down, undercurve up again, slant down, and exit with a tail. It is two i-strokes joined and has no dot.

How do you write a capital U in cursive?

Undercurve from the baseline to the top line, curve down to the baseline and back up to the top line, then slant down and exit with a tail. Capital U connects to the next letter.

How do you tell cursive u from cursive n?

u begins with an undercurve that dips under; n begins with an overcurve that arches over. Turn the page upside down and the letters swap.

What are some good words to practise cursive u with?

Good practice words for cursive u are up, use, under, uncle and umbrella. The join is what to watch: the undercurve out of u has to reach the baseline before the next letter starts, or the two run together. Watch the height too: u should stop at the midline, level with the short letters either side of it. The practice sheet on this page rules the first two, up and use; the worksheet generator will rule the rest.