Cursive letters / L
Cursive L: capital and lowercase l
To write cursive L, start the capital between the headline and midline, loop over the top, slant down to the baseline, curl a small loop there, and swoop right along the baseline into the next letter. Lowercase l starts on the baseline, curves up to a narrow loop at the headline, slants straight down, and exits with a short undercurve.
Specimen
Capital L and lowercase l in traditional school cursive.
Copy and paste cursive L
Paste-ready script letters for a bio, caption, or text: ℒ 𝓁 𝓛 𝓵. More looks in the cursive generator.
Copy box
Script
ℒ𝓁
Bold script
𝓛𝓵
Italic
𝐿𝑙
Bold italic
𝑳𝒍
This is Unicode text, not a handwriting font. It will look different in every app.
Write
How to write L in cursive
Capital L
Watch the pen. Each number appears where its step starts; the steps below match.
Capital L, step by step
- Start on the left, halfway between the headline and the midline. Curve up to the headline, round over the top, and cross the starting stroke to close a small loop.
- Slant a long downstroke from the loop to the baseline.
- Curl left into a small flat loop resting on the baseline.
- Sweep right in a long, gently wavy stroke along the baseline that turns up into the next letter.
The whole capital L in one read
Capital L has a loop at each end. Start on the left, about halfway between the headline and the midline. Curve up and to the right to the headline, round over the top, and come back down so you cross your starting stroke and close a small loop. From that loop, slant a long downstroke to the baseline. At the bottom, curl to the left into a small flat loop resting on the baseline, then sweep out to the right in a long, gently wavy stroke along the baseline. The end of that swoop turns up into the next letter, so capital L joins in this style.
Lowercase l
Watch the pen. Each number appears where its step starts; the steps below match.
Lowercase l, step by step
- Start on the baseline. Swing a long undercurve up to the headline.
- Loop left at the top and slant a straight downstroke to the baseline, crossing the upstroke about halfway between the midline and the baseline.
- Finish with a short undercurve to the right.
The whole lowercase l in one read
Lowercase l is a single tall loop. Start on the baseline and swing a long undercurve up and to the right all the way to the headline. Round the top into a narrow loop, turning to the left, and bring a straight, slanted downstroke back to the baseline. The downstroke crosses the upstroke about halfway between the midline and the baseline. At the bottom, curve into a short undercurve to the right. On its own the exit barely lifts off the baseline. In a word it keeps rising to meet the next letter. There is no retrace, no dot, and nothing added at the midline.
Zaner-Bloser vs D’Nealian
Join
Joining l to other letters
l into o
From the bottom of l, the exit climbs on a long diagonal to the midline and arrives at the top of o. The oval is then drawn counterclockwise from that point: left, down to the baseline, and back up to close where the connector arrived. Because o starts at its top, the exit has to reach the full midline before turning. If it bends over early, the oval starts from its side and is left open at the top, so o looks like a u.
l into e
l and e are the same motion at two sizes, which is why this pair is easy to muddle. l's exit rises from the baseline and turns back to the left into e's loop, which tops out at the midline. Then e comes down to the baseline and exits. Compare the two loops: l's reaches the headline, e's stops at the midline. If you let e's loop keep climbing past the midline, le turns into ll.
l into i
i has no loop, so l's exit climbs straight to the midline and stops in a sharp point. From that point, come straight back down the same slant to the baseline and curve into i's short exit. The dot goes on last, above the midline and in line with the stem. Retrace at the top instead of looping. A loop at the top of i turns li into le, and a missing dot makes the pair read as a tall l beside a lone stroke.
Watch for
Common cursive l mistakes
Stopping the loop at the midline
Lowercase l and e share the same route: undercurve up, loop left, come down, exit. The only difference is height. If the upstroke turns over at the midline instead of climbing to the headline, the loop is short and the letter is e. This shows up most in words like let and all, where the letters sit side by side. Push the first undercurve right up to the headline so the top of l lines up with other tall letters.
Adding a curl at the exit
Lowercase l ends with a plain undercurve that runs up to the next letter. If the exit curls back into a small closed shape at the midline before moving on, the tall loop plus that curl makes b. This happens when writers borrow the finishing stroke from b, o, or w. Keep the end of l a smooth, open curve. The difference matters in ball, where the b and the two l's appear side by side.
Skipping the capital's bottom loop
Capital L's downstroke does not meet the swoop in a sharp corner. It curls to the left into a small flat loop on the baseline, and only then sweeps out to the right. Leave the loop out and the bottom turns into the corner of a printed L. Letting the swoop dip under the baseline also causes trouble, because the next letter then has nothing to join to. Keep the loop resting on the baseline and the swoop running along it.
Free cursive L 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 L questions
How do you write a capital L in cursive?
Capital L has a loop at each end. Start on the left, about halfway between the headline and the midline. Curve up and to the right to the headline, round over the top, and come back down so you cross your starting stroke and close a small loop.
How do you write a lowercase l in cursive?
Lowercase l is a single tall loop. Start on the baseline and swing a long undercurve up and to the right all the way to the headline. Round the top into a narrow loop, turning to the left, and bring a straight, slanted downstroke back to the baseline.
Does cursive capital L connect to the next letter?
Yes. In traditional cursive the capital L carries its last stroke into the next lowercase letter, so a word like "Let" is written without lifting after the capital.
What is the most common mistake with cursive l?
Stopping the loop at the midline. Lowercase l and e share the same route: undercurve up, loop left, come down, exit. The only difference is height.
Can I copy and paste a cursive L?
Yes. The copy box on this page gives you Unicode script letters (Ll) 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 L worksheet on this page.
Is cursive l the same in Zaner-Bloser and D’Nealian?
Lowercase: Zaner-Bloser's long exit up to the midline is what makes l look like b when it curls. D'Nealian's short monkey-tail exit does not.