Cursive Words

Tell in Cursive

The word tell in cursive: stroke-by-stroke animation, letter joins, a trace check, and a free printable worksheet.

In cursive, tell is written in 2 strokes with one pencil lift: t-e-l-l in one continuous stroke; then go back to cross the t. Press play to watch it drawn on the writing lines, then trace it yourself and print the free worksheet.

tell written in cursive on handwriting guidelines, with a green starting dot and a red stop sign

How to write tell in cursive

  1. 1Keep the pencil down through t-e-l-l, letting each exit stroke become the next letter's entry.
  2. 2Last, return to cross the t — always after the body of the word is done.
Strokes: 2Pencil lifts: 1Letters: 4

Keep e small — it lives between the baseline and the midline. Let t and l climb toward the topline.

How the letters in tell connect

All 3 of the joins in tell leave the letter on an undercurve.

The letters in tell

tell is only as good as its letters. Each card links to the full guide — animation, joins, quiz, and worksheet — for that letter.

Trace tell in cursive

Ready to try? Drag from the green circle through each stroke in order. If you drift off tell, the cursor waits for you to come back.

Put your finger or mouse on the circle and pull it through the first stroke.

Free printable tell cursive worksheet

Take tell to pencil and paper — the free printable worksheet has dashed models to trace, green starting dots for guided writing, a model to copy, and open writing lines to finish.

Need a different word? Make a worksheet for any word — free, for any spelling.

Frequently asked questions

1. Keep the pencil down through t-e-l-l, letting each exit stroke become the next letter's entry. 2. Last, return to cross the t — always after the body of the word is done.

Not quite: the body of tell flows in one continuous run, but it takes 2 strokes in all. The pencil lifts once: to cross the t.

All 3 of the joins in tell leave the letter on an undercurve.

Keep e small — it lives between the baseline and the midline. Let t and l climb toward the topline.

tell starts with the letter t, which opens on an undercurve. Getting that first entry stroke right sets the slant for the whole word.

Practice writing tell with real feedback

Scribble teaches cursive this same way on iPad — watch, trace, write, and get feedback on shape, size, spacing, and slant.

Try Scribble