How to write a cursive U
The u is a cup that rises back to the midline before exiting. Ending at the baseline turns it into an a. The final upstroke is the whole letter's signature.
Drawing the capital
Upstroke, down, curve at the baseline, then back up to the midline, then a small exit to the right.
Drawing the lower case
Same as the capital: a cup shape with a tail that rises to the midline and exits right.
The join after U
u joins from the final upstroke. 'ou' in 'you', 'about' and 'uu' in 'vacuum' are common.
Where it goes wrong
Ending at the baseline (looks like a), or no final upstroke.
Setting up practice for U
Three things decide whether practice works: the surface, the tools and the length. A flat table, a pencil with a visible point and lined paper with a midline — that is the whole setup. Sessions of ten minutes beat sessions of thirty; a child who practices tired learns a tired version of the letter, and unlearning it costs more than the extra minutes gained. For the U specifically, print two copies of the worksheet: one for the first attempt, one for the comparison at the end of the week.
The adult version of U
Adult cursive drifts away from the school model: the curve gets faster and the letter flattens. That is normal — handwriting is a tool, not a museum piece. But when an adult wants to improve legibility, the fix is always the same: go back to the school letterform for a week, then let speed return on its own. The letter below the drift is still the letter; U does not change its identity at speed.
Where U sits in the three zones
Cursive measures every letter against three horizontal lines: the top line, the midline and the baseline. U occupies the middle zone only. Keeping that height consistent is what makes a page of handwriting look even — a letter that drifts up or down is the first thing a teacher notices, before any question of style.
Words to practice
up us you use under
These words appear on the printable U worksheet (PDF, 1 page), which also carries trace models for both cases and blank practice lines.
What a correct U looks like
- Height: stays inside the middle zone, like o and n.
- Start and exit: begins at the baseline, ends ready to join the next letter.
- Proportion: the loops and curves stay even across a line — uneven Us are the first sign of rushed practice.
Download the U worksheet (PDF) All 26 letters
New to cursive? Start with the beginner guide.