Cursive M (Capital & Lowercase)

How to Write a Capital M in Cursive

1. Start with a small hook. Place your pencil on the left, just below the top line. Make a little hook that curls up and over to the right.
2. Make the first hump. Round over the top line and pull a long, slanted stroke straight down to the baseline.
3. Retrace and make the second hump. Without lifting, go back up along the same stroke, curve over the top line again and come down to the baseline.
4. Add the third hump. Retrace once more, round over the top line a third time and bring the last stroke down. All three humps should touch the top line and lean the same way.
5. Round off and exit. Curve the last stroke at the baseline and swing up to the right. That exit joins the next letter.

How to Write a Lowercase m in Cursive

1. Start just below the midline. On its own, the m starts with a small hook just under the dashed midline. Inside a word, the stroke from the previous letter rises to this point.
2. Make the first hump. Curve over the midline and pull a slanted stroke down to the baseline.
3. Retrace for the second hump. Go back up the same stroke, round over the midline again and come down to the baseline.
4. Make the third hump. Retrace one more time and make a third hump the same size as the others. Three humps is what makes it an m.
5. Exit along the baseline. Round off the last stroke at the baseline and sweep up to the right toward the next letter.

Common Mistakes With Cursive M

Almost every problem with cursive M comes down to the humps. Check for these when you practice.

• Losing a hump. With only two humps, a lowercase m reads as an n. Count three humps until it becomes automatic.
• Pointed tops. The humps should be rounded, not sharp. Pointy tops make an m look like a cursive w or a zigzag.
• Gaps instead of retraces. Each new hump starts by going back up the stroke you just made. If you leave a gap between the strokes, the m starts to look like separate letters.
• Uneven humps on the capital. All three humps of the capital M should reach the top line. A short middle hump throws off the whole letter.
• A changing slant. The downstrokes should be parallel. If they fan out, the m looks wobbly even when the humps are right.

How the Cursive Letter M Connects

Both forms of M join the next letter. The capital M ends with a rounded exit at the baseline that climbs straight into the following letter, so names like Mia and Max are written without lifting your pencil.

Joining into a lowercase m is smooth: the connecting stroke from the previous letter runs up to the midline and turns straight into the first hump. In summer, the double m is six humps in a row, so keep them the same height and evenly spaced.

After o, w, v and b the join leaves from the midline and goes straight across into the first hump. You can see that short, flat bridge in home.

Copy and Paste Cursive M Symbols

These are Unicode symbols, not real handwriting. They look like script and paste into most apps, but each symbol is its own character, so they won't join like a pen stroke. Use them for names, bios and captions.

• ℳ𝒶ℊ𝒾𝒸Copy
• ℳℴℴ𝓃Copy
• ℳ𝒾𝓈𝓈 𝒴ℴ𝓊Copy
• ℳℴℴ𝒹Copy

Words That Start With M

Write real words to get the m's rhythm into your hand. Start with short ones, then try words where the m is doubled or sits in the middle.

• Short words: map, mat, men, mix, mom, mud, may, mop
• Longer words: mother, monkey, music, morning, market, mirror, magic, minute
• Double m and middle m: summer, hammer, common, mummy, lemon, home, camel, animal
• Names and places: Mia, Max, Mason, Maria, Miami, Madrid, Mexico, Monday

Most people write a capital M every week in the word Monday. It's a handy reminder to practice the three even humps.