Cursive Alphabet

Cursive Y: How to Write a Capital and Lowercase Y in Cursive

Learn how to write a cursive Y. Watch the capital and lowercase y drawn stroke by stroke on the writing lines, see how y joins other letters, and take the letter check.

The lowercase y is a descender letter. It reaches from the midline to the bottomline. Press play to watch the lowercase and capital Y drawn stroke by stroke on the writing lines, then take the letter check below each animation.

The cursive capital Y and lowercase y on handwriting guidelines, each with a green starting dot and a red stop sign

How to write a lowercase y in cursive

The model below is the exact lowercase y in cursive that children trace in Scribble. Press play to watch it drawn in one stroke on the writing lines, with a cue for every part of the stroke — then check the facts, joins, and practice words beside it.

Lowercase y has one stroke.

Lowercase y is a descender letter.

It reaches from the midline to the bottomline.

  1. 1
    Curve over, slant down, make an undercurve, slant down, make a loop, curve over.Stop at the midline.
Entry stroke: overcurveExit stroke: overcurve

Practice, from easiest to hardest

yyeyoyucytyyesyouwhyyell

Cursive lowercase y quiz

Take the lowercase y quiz to make sure the letter stuck: tap the two writing lines it stays between, tap where each stroke starts and stops, trace the letter with your finger or mouse, and answer the join question. Wrong taps just shake and let you try again.

1. Lines2. Start and stop3. Trace4. Joins

4 quick checks · about a minute

Cursive lowercase y worksheet

Print the free cursive lowercase y worksheet to move from the screen to paper. The PDF has five practice rows: trace the dashed y, write the y starting from the green dot, write it from memory, trace the join into the next letter, and trace a practice word from the Scribble curriculum.

Preview of the printable cursive lowercase y worksheet
Preview
Download (PDF)

How lowercase y joins other letters

Cursive letters slant forward and are joined together. The ending curve of the first letter can join the starting curve of the next letter — so what lowercase y does next depends only on which stroke the next letter starts with: an undercurve, a downcurve, or an overcurve.

overcurve → undercurveyi

The overcurve of the y joins the undercurve of the i.

Every undercurve letter joins the same way — tap one:

overcurve → downcurveya

The overcurve of the y joins the downcurve of the a.

Every downcurve letter joins the same way — tap one:

overcurve → overcurveyn

The overcurve of the y joins the overcurve of the n.

Every overcurve letter joins the same way — tap one:

How to write a capital Y in cursive

The cursive capital Y is written in one stroke. Press play to watch the capital Y in cursive drawn on the writing lines, then note whether it connects to the letter after it — that is the habit that separates capitals from lowercase letters.

Capital Y has one stroke.

Y is a capital letter.

It stays between the baseline and topline.

Y is a connecting capital letter.

Flow into the next letter.

  1. 1
    Curve forward, slant down, make an undercurve, slant down, make a loop, curve over.Stop at the midline.
Entry stroke: curve forwardExit stroke: overcurveCapital type: connecting — flow into the next letter

Practice, from easiest to hardest

YYumiYosemiteYou are from Yemen.

Cursive capital Y quiz

Take the capital Y quiz to make sure the letter stuck: tap the two writing lines it stays between, tap where each stroke starts and stops, trace the letter with your finger or mouse, and answer the join question. Wrong taps just shake and let you try again.

1. Lines2. Start and stop3. Trace4. Joins

4 quick checks · about a minute

Capital Y and the next letter

Y is a connecting capital letter. Flow into the next letter. In "Yi" the capital flows straight into the i without lifting the pencil.

Cursive capital Y worksheet

Print the free cursive capital Y worksheet to move from the screen to paper. The PDF has five practice rows: trace the dashed Y, write the Y starting from the green dot, write it from memory, trace the join into the next letter, and trace a practice word from the Scribble curriculum.

Preview of the printable cursive capital Y worksheet
Preview
Download (PDF)

Frequently asked questions

The lowercase cursive y is one continuous stroke: curve over, slant down, make an undercurve, slant down, make a loop, curve over. The stroke stops at the midline.

The capital cursive Y is one continuous stroke: curve forward, slant down, make an undercurve, slant down, make a loop, curve over. The stroke stops at the midline. Capital Y stays between the baseline and topline.

One each — both the lowercase y and the capital Y are written in a single stroke, without lifting the pencil.

Yes. Lowercase y is a descender letter. It reaches from the midline to the bottomline. The tail loops below the baseline and comes back up to join the next letter.

The lowercase y begins with an overcurve and ends with an overcurve, so the letter before it flows into that overcurve and its exit stroke carries straight into the next letter — as in "yi", "ya", and "yn".

Yes. Y is a connecting capital letter — flow into the next letter, as in "Yi".

Practice cursive y with real feedback

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

Try Scribble