The in cursive
In cursive, the is written as one joined stroke with a single pen lift at the end to cross the t. The t rises about halfway above the midline, comes back down, and swings into a tall h whose loop reaches the headline. The h's hump lands at the baseline and flows into a looped e.
Written out
"the" in traditional school cursive.
Copy and paste the in cursive
Script text for a caption or message. It is a Unicode font style, so it will look different from the handwriting above and can vary by app.
Copy box
Script
𝓉𝒽ℯ
Bold script
𝓽𝓱𝓮
Italic
𝑡ℎ𝑒
Bold italic
𝒕𝒉𝒆
This is Unicode text, not a handwriting font. It will look different in every app.
Letters in “the”
Open a letter for its strokes, joins, and a free sheet.
The t to h join
The th pair is the part of the word people most often get wrong. The t stops short of the headline, lower than the h. At the bottom of the t, curve up and out toward the right, then keep climbing into the h loop all the way to the headline. Coming down the back of that loop, retrace the stem and push out a hump that returns to the baseline. If your t and h look the same height, shorten the t.
Cross the t last
Do not stop after the t to cross it. Finish the whole word, then lift the pen and add a short crossbar through the t near the midline, as in the image. This keeps your hand moving and the joins smooth. When the is in the middle of a sentence, many writers cross it along with any other t's in the next word or two.
Why a small word matters
The is one of the most common words in English, so you will write it constantly. If it is slow or awkward, every sentence is. Practice it until it takes one quick motion. At the start of a sentence you will need the capital T version, which in traditional cursive does not join the h. Leave a small gap after the T and start the h fresh.
Free "the" tracing sheet
Free, no sign-up. The PDF builds in this browser.