Cursive letters / C
Cursive C: capital and lowercase c
To write cursive C, start just under the headline on the right, curve left and down counterclockwise to the baseline, and sweep right and up to join the next letter. Lowercase c is the same curve at half height: start just under the midline, round down to the baseline, and exit up to the right. Neither one closes.
Specimen
Capital C and lowercase c in traditional school cursive.
Copy and paste cursive C
Paste-ready script letters for a bio, caption, or text: 𝒞 𝒸 𝓒 𝓬. More looks in the cursive generator.
Copy box
Script
𝒞𝒸
Bold script
𝓒𝓬
Italic
𝐶𝑐
Bold italic
𝑪𝒄
This is Unicode text, not a handwriting font. It will look different in every app.
Write
How to write C in cursive
Capital C
Watch the pen. Each number appears where its step starts; the steps below match.
Capital C, step by step
- Start just under the headline on the right. Swing up over the top and down the left side, counterclockwise.
- Continue past the midline to the baseline and curve right.
- Turn up and leave the right side open. In a word, sweep up into the next letter; alone, stop with a short upturn below the midline.
The whole capital C in one read
Capital C is one smooth counterclockwise curve. Put the pencil just under the headline on the right side. Swing up over the top, then left and down the long left side, past the midline, to the baseline. Curve right along the baseline and turn up. On its own the capital ends with a short upturn below the midline, leaving the right side wide open. In a word, that end becomes a long, low sweep that rises into the next lowercase letter, so the capital connects. There is no lead-in stroke from the baseline and no extra stroke at the top.
Lowercase c
Watch the pen. Each number appears where its step starts; the steps below match.
Lowercase c, step by step
- Start on the curve just under the midline on the right. There is no lead-in from the baseline.
- Pull left and down counterclockwise to the baseline.
- Curve right along the baseline and turn up, leaving the right side open. The upturn becomes the join.
The whole lowercase c in one read
Lowercase c starts on the curve itself, just under the midline on the right side. There is no lead-in from the baseline. Go up slightly over the top, then pull left and down counterclockwise to the baseline. Curve right along the baseline and turn upward. Standing alone, c ends in a short upturn well below the midline, so the letter stays open on the right. In a word, that upturn becomes the joining stroke that climbs to the next letter. The whole letter fits between the baseline and the midline.
Zaner-Bloser vs D’Nealian
Join
Joining c to other letters
c into a
c's exit climbs from the baseline toward the midline and runs into the left side of a's oval. From there a is written in full: its oval goes counterclockwise just like c, closes at the midline, and a straight stem comes down its right side. The pair reads as an open curve followed by a closed oval with a stem, and that stem is what tells ca from co.
c into o
The join into o is short. c's exit leaves the baseline and touches o low on its left side, rather than climbing to the midline first. o is then a round, fully closed oval with no stem. Because c and o are the same size and the same shape on the left, the only difference a reader sees is that c is open on the right and o is closed.
c into e
Into e, the exit stays low and long. It runs out along the baseline, rises gently, and becomes e's entry stroke, curling up into e's small loop at the midline. Then come down the left side of e and finish with its upturn. c itself has no loop, so the loop in e is the new shape here. If it closes up, ce looks like ci without a dot.
Watch for
Common cursive c mistakes
Closing the curve makes o
c and o begin the same way, at the top right, going counterclockwise. The only difference is that c never comes back to where it started. If the exit climbs all the way to the midline and meets the start, the letter is o. Keep the upturn low when c stands alone, and in a word let it sweep into the next letter instead of curling back.
A baseline lead-in turns c into e
Some learners give c the same entry stroke as e, a curve that starts on the baseline and rises to the midline. Once that stroke crosses the top of the curve, it makes a small loop, and the letter is e. In this style c has no lead-in: start on the curve at the top right. In the middle of a word, the previous letter's exit carries you to that spot.
A lowercase c written too tall
Capital C and lowercase c are the same shape, so size is the only clue. The capital reaches the headline, and the lowercase stops at the midline. A lowercase c that drifts up toward the headline looks like a capital in the middle of a word, so a word like ice can read as iCe. Keep lowercase c inside the space between baseline and midline.
Free cursive C 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 C questions
How do you write a capital C in cursive?
Capital C is one smooth counterclockwise curve. Put the pencil just under the headline on the right side. Swing up over the top, then left and down the long left side, past the midline, to the baseline.
How do you write a lowercase c in cursive?
Lowercase c starts on the curve itself, just under the midline on the right side. There is no lead-in from the baseline. Go up slightly over the top, then pull left and down counterclockwise to the baseline.
Does cursive capital C connect to the next letter?
Yes. In traditional cursive the capital C carries its last stroke into the next lowercase letter, so a word like "Cat" is written without lifting after the capital.
What is the most common mistake with cursive c?
Closing the curve makes o. c and o begin the same way, at the top right, going counterclockwise. The only difference is that c never comes back to where it started.
Can I copy and paste a cursive C?
Yes. The copy box on this page gives you Unicode script letters (Cc) 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 C worksheet on this page.
Is cursive c the same in Zaner-Bloser and D’Nealian?
Lowercase c: Zaner-Bloser starts on the oval with no baseline entry. D'Nealian adds a baseline entry. Uppercase C: Zaner-Bloser adds a tiny downstroke from the headline; D'Nealian starts slightly below the headline.