Cursive letters / B
Cursive B: capital and lowercase b
For cursive B, start with a small hook, climb to the headline, and slant a straight stem to the baseline. Then add a small top bowl and a bigger bottom bowl on the right. Lowercase b starts on the baseline, loops up to the headline, comes down, and rounds into a bowl that ends at the midline.
Specimen
Capital B and lowercase b in traditional school cursive.
Copy and paste cursive B
Paste-ready script letters for a bio, caption, or text: ℬ 𝒷 𝓑 𝓫. More looks in the cursive generator.
Copy box
Script
ℬ𝒷
Bold script
𝓑𝓫
Italic
𝐵𝑏
Bold italic
𝑩𝒃
This is Unicode text, not a handwriting font. It will look different in every app.
Write
How to write B in cursive
Capital B
Watch the pen. Each number appears where its step starts; the steps below match.
Capital B, step by step
- Start with a short hook on the left, above the midline. Swing up and right to the headline.
- Slant a straight stem down to the baseline.
- Starting on the stem just below its top, curve a small bowl to the right and back to the middle, turning in a tight point just above the midline.
- Swing a larger bowl right and down to the baseline, curling back left to end in a tail near the stem's foot. There is no exit stroke.
The whole capital B in one read
Capital B begins with a short hook on the left, above the midline. Swing up and right to the headline, then slant a straight stem down to the baseline. Then draw the bowls, starting on the stem just below its top: a smaller one that curves right and comes back to the middle of the letter, where it turns in a tight point just above the midline, then a bigger bowl that swings right and down to the baseline and curls back left. It ends in a short tail near the foot of the stem, with a small gap. There is no exit stroke, so the next letter starts on its own, though a letter with a baseline lead-in, such as e, may touch that tail.
Lowercase b
Watch the pen. Each number appears where its step starts; the steps below match.
Lowercase b, step by step
- Start on the baseline with a long lead-in and climb at a slant to the headline.
- Turn left over a narrow loop and come straight down to the baseline, crossing the up stroke just above the line.
- Curve right and up into a small bowl whose top reaches the midline.
- Stop at the midline. In a word, carry the stroke across to the next letter at that height.
The whole lowercase b in one read
Lowercase b starts on the baseline with a long, gentle lead-in from the left. Climb at a slant all the way to the headline, turn left over a narrow loop, and come straight down to the baseline, crossing the up stroke just above the line. From the bottom, curve right and up into a small bowl whose top reaches the midline. The bowl stops there in a small point. On its own the letter ends at the midline. In a word, the stroke carries straight across to the next letter at midline height instead of dropping back to the baseline.
Zaner-Bloser vs D’Nealian
Join
Joining b to other letters
b into e
Because b's bowl stops at the midline, e does not get its usual lead-in from the baseline. The stroke leaves the top of b's bowl, dips slightly, and swings up and around into e's small loop, which sits right under the midline. Come down the left side of that loop and finish e with its upturn at the baseline. Keep the loop open, or be reads as bi without the dot.
b into a
This is the flattest join b makes. The stroke leaves the top of b's bowl and runs straight across at the midline to become the top of a's oval. From there, pull the oval left and down counterclockwise, close it, and drop a's stem to the baseline. There is no dip between the letters, so the top of the pair reads as one level line from the bowl to a's stem.
b into i
The stroke leaves b's bowl at the midline, arches over, and runs down into i's short downstroke. i gets no baseline lead-in here, so it is only a single slanted stroke from the midline to the baseline, ending in an upturn. Lift the pencil after the word and add the dot above the stroke. The dot is the only thing that tells a reader this short line is i.
Watch for
Common cursive b mistakes
A loop that runs through the baseline makes f
b and f start the same way, with a tall loop above the midline. The difference is at the bottom. b's downstroke stops at the baseline and turns up into its bowl. If the stroke keeps going below the baseline, you are drawing the lower half of f, and the letter reads as f. Stop the downstroke on the line before you round into the bowl.
A missing bowl leaves l
The bowl is small, and it is easy to skip or squash. Without it, lowercase b is just a tall loop with an upturn, which is l, so be turns into le. A bowl that sinks back to the baseline blurs the letter too, because the next letter then has to start from the bottom. Keep the bowl round and let it end at the midline.
A capital B that reads as 13
The capital is built in two parts: a hooked stem, then a pair of bowls. If the bowls start away from the stem, or the bottom bowl ends far to its right, the gap makes the capital look like the number 13. Start the bowls on the stem, just below its top, and bring the bottom bowl back so its tail ends close to the stem's foot.
Free cursive B worksheet
Sheets use Playwrite US Trad, a traditional US school cursive.
Free, no sign-up. The PDF builds in this browser.
Practicing more than one letter? Get all 26 in the Complete Cursive Workbook, $9.
Cursive B questions
How do you write a capital B in cursive?
Capital B begins with a short hook on the left, above the midline. Swing up and right to the headline, then slant a straight stem down to the baseline. Then draw the bowls, starting on the stem just below its top: a smaller one that curves right and comes back to the middle of the letter, where it turns in a tight point just above the midline, then a bigger bowl that swings right and down to the baseline and curls back left.
How do you write a lowercase b in cursive?
Lowercase b starts on the baseline with a long, gentle lead-in from the left. Climb at a slant all the way to the headline, turn left over a narrow loop, and come straight down to the baseline, crossing the up stroke just above the line. From the bottom, curve right and up into a small bowl whose top reaches the midline.
Does cursive capital B connect to the next letter?
No. Capital B ends on its own, so lift the pen and start the next letter with its normal entry stroke.
What is the most common mistake with cursive b?
A loop that runs through the baseline makes f. b and f start the same way, with a tall loop above the midline. The difference is at the bottom.
Can I copy and paste a cursive B?
Yes. The copy box on this page gives you Unicode script letters (Bb) that paste into bios, captions, and messages. They look like cursive but are a font-style symbol, not handwriting. For a printed sheet, use the free B worksheet on this page.
Is cursive b the same in Zaner-Bloser and D’Nealian?
Uppercase B: Zaner-Bloser enters from the midline. D'Nealian starts at the headline.