Cursive letters / Y
Cursive Y: capital and lowercase y
Capital cursive Y starts just below the headline with a small hook, dips to a round bottom on the baseline, and climbs to the headline. Then it drops below the baseline, loops to the left, and crosses back up to join the next letter. Lowercase y does the same from the midline, without the hook: one round valley and the looped tail.
Specimen
Capital Y and lowercase y in traditional school cursive.
Copy and paste cursive Y
Paste-ready script letters for a bio, caption, or text: 𝒴 𝓎 𝓨 𝔂. More looks in the cursive generator.
Copy box
Script
𝒴𝓎
Bold script
𝓨𝔂
Italic
𝑌𝑦
Bold italic
𝒀𝒚
This is Unicode text, not a handwriting font. It will look different in every app.
Write
How to write Y in cursive
Capital Y
Watch the pen. Each number appears where its step starts; the steps below match.
Capital Y, step by step
- Start just below the headline with a small hook that curls over to the right.
- Slant down to the baseline, round the bottom, and climb the right side to the headline.
- Retrace straight down the right side, through the baseline, to the descender line.
- Loop left and back up, crossing the downstroke at the baseline, then rise to the right into the next letter.
The whole capital Y in one read
Capital Y starts out exactly like capital U. Begin just below the headline with a small hook that curls over to the right. Slant down to the baseline, round the bottom, and climb the right side to the headline. Now come straight back down that right side, but do not stop at the baseline. Keep going to the line below, curve around to the left at the bottom, and swing back up, crossing the downstroke right at the baseline. The loop is closed, not an open hook. After the crossing, the stroke keeps rising to the right, and in Yo, Yu and Ya it runs into the next letter.
Lowercase y
Watch the pen. Each number appears where its step starts; the steps below match.
Lowercase y, step by step
- Start at the midline. There is no hook; inside a word, the join from the previous letter arrives here.
- Slant down to the baseline, round the bottom, and climb to a sharp point at the midline.
- Retrace straight down through the baseline to the descender line.
- Loop left and back up, crossing the downstroke at the baseline, then rise to the right to exit.
The whole lowercase y in one read
Lowercase y is a round valley with a long looped tail. At the start of a word, begin right at the midline. There is no hook. Slant down to the baseline, round the bottom, and climb to a sharp point at the midline, just like the first half of u. From that point, retrace straight down through the baseline and on to the descender line. Curve left at the bottom and loop back up, crossing the downstroke at the baseline. The stroke then rises to the right and carries the pen into the next letter. The top of y is open, a valley, not a closed oval. The loop below is closed.
Join
Joining y to other letters
y into o
In yo, the tail of y crosses its own downstroke at the baseline and keeps rising to the right, straight into the lower left side of o. That rising stroke becomes part of o's oval, which curves up and around and closes at the top. So the word you shows y's open valley, the looped tail, then a closed oval. If y's top were closed too, the pair would show two ovals and read as go. Keep the valley of y open.
y into u
In yu, y's tail rises from the baseline crossing to the midline and becomes u's first downstroke. u then makes its two round valleys and ends with a flick on the baseline. The pair has three round valleys in a row, with a loop hanging below the first one. Keep y's tail crossing near the baseline. If it crosses too high, the upstroke into u runs through y's valley and the letters blur together.
y into a
In ya, the tail comes up out of the loop, crosses the downstroke at the baseline, and sweeps into the lower left side of a's oval. The oval rounds up to the midline, closes, and then a drops its straight right side to the baseline and ends with a flick. So ya has an open valley on y and a closed oval with a stem on a. Without that stem the oval stands alone and ya reads as yo, so finish the right side of a.
Watch for
Common cursive y mistakes
Closing the top turns y into g
The top of y is an open valley: down to the baseline, round the bottom, back up to a point. Lowercase g has the same looped tail but starts with a closed oval on top. If you round the top of y around into a circle before you drop the tail, you have written g, and yes reads as ges. Keep the left side of y separate from the right until the tail starts.
Skipping the valley turns y into j
Some writers go straight into the long downstroke and loop without making the round valley first. That leaves a single stroke with a loop, which is j without its dot. Lowercase y always has a valley on top, one full dip to the baseline and back up to the midline, before the tail drops. If my reads as mj, the valley is missing.
Capital Y that stops at the baseline
Capital Y and capital U share the same cup and the same retrace down the right side. The only difference is where that retrace stops. U stops at the baseline and turns right. Y keeps going to the line below and loops back up. If the capital stops at the baseline, it reads as U, so Yes reads as Ues. Let the right side drop through the line before you turn.
Free cursive Y 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 Y questions
How do you write a capital Y in cursive?
Capital Y starts out exactly like capital U. Begin just below the headline with a small hook that curls over to the right. Slant down to the baseline, round the bottom, and climb the right side to the headline.
How do you write a lowercase y in cursive?
Lowercase y is a round valley with a long looped tail. At the start of a word, begin right at the midline. There is no hook.
Does cursive capital Y connect to the next letter?
Yes. In traditional cursive the capital Y carries its last stroke into the next lowercase letter, so a word like "You" is written without lifting after the capital.
What is the most common mistake with cursive y?
Closing the top turns y into g. The top of y is an open valley: down to the baseline, round the bottom, back up to a point. Lowercase g has the same looped tail but starts with a closed oval on top.
Can I copy and paste a cursive Y?
Yes. The copy box on this page gives you Unicode script letters (Yy) 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 Y worksheet on this page.