Cursive C (Capital & Lowercase)

How to Write a Cursive Capital C

1. Start with a hook. Put your pencil a little below the top line on the right and make a tiny hook that curls up and to the left.
2. Arc over the top. Carry the stroke up to the top line and over to the left in a wide, smooth curve.
3. Come down the left side. Follow the curve down the left side, leaning with the slant, all the way to the baseline.
4. Swing along the baseline. Round off the bottom and sweep to the right along the baseline. The C should be almost as wide as it is tall.
5. Exit upward. Lift the end of the stroke slightly as it leaves the letter. In a word, this becomes the join into the next letter.

How to Write a Lowercase c in Cursive

1. Start at the midline. Place your pencil at the midline, on the right side of the letter. In a word, the stroke from the previous letter rises to this spot.
2. Make a small hook. Curl the tip up and over to the left so the top of the c has a tiny rounded hook.
3. Curve down the left. Bring the stroke down the left side in a smooth curve until it touches the baseline.
4. Round the bottom. Turn along the baseline and start moving right. Keep the opening on the right side clear.
5. Swing out. Finish with an exit stroke that rises toward the next letter.

Common Mistakes With Cursive C

C is short and open, so small changes make it look like a different letter.

• Closing the curve. If the bottom stroke comes back up to meet the hook, the c turns into an o. Keep the right side open.
• Looping the top. A loop at the top instead of a small hook makes the lowercase c look like an e. The hook is a tiny curl, not a closed eye.
• Skipping the hook. Without the starting hook, the c is a plain bracket and blends into the letters around it.
• Making the capital too narrow. A capital C cursive letter is wide and round. A thin capital looks like a tall lowercase c.
• Lifting before the join. The capital C joins in this style. Stopping on the baseline leaves an odd gap before the next letter.

How the Cursive Letter C Joins Other Letters

Both forms of C join the letter that follows. The bottom curve of the capital swings right and up, straight into the next letter, as in Cora or Carl. Keep the capital round and the join low.

Joining into a lowercase c takes a little planning. The stroke from the previous letter has to climb to the midline and finish on the right side of the c, where the hook begins, instead of stopping on the left. You can see it in soccer, where the first c swings out of its bottom and up into the hook of the second.

After o, w, v and b, the join already sits at the midline, so it runs across and turns straight down into the hook. In ocean that bridge is short and level. Don't let it sag, or the c picks up an extra bump that looks like an i.

Copy and Paste Cursive C Symbols

These script-style C symbols are Unicode characters, not handwriting. They're perfect for names, captions and chats, but each one stands alone, so they won't join up like pen-written cursive.

• 𝒞𝓊𝓉ℯCopy
• 𝒞ℴ𝓏𝓎Copy
• 𝒞𝒶𝓁𝓂Copy
• 𝒞ℴℴ𝓁 𝒞𝒶𝓉Copy

Words That Start With C

C comes up in plenty of short, everyday words, and it's easy to join from almost any letter. Mix short words with ones where c sits in the middle or doubles up.

• Short words: cat, cup, car, cow, cap, cut, cry, cake
• Longer words: candle, circle, cookie, castle, cloud, color, carrot, chicken
• Double c and middle c: soccer, accent, ocean, dance, pencil, rocket, bicycle, raccoon
• Names and places: Cora, Carl, Chloe, Caleb, Canada, Chicago, Cairo, China

Teachers often group c with a, d, g and o, because they all begin with the same curve down the left side. A steady c makes those letters easier too.