Cursive W
ModerateArch lettersA lowercase cursive w is two pointed valleys — up, down, up, down, up — finishing with a small tail at the midline.
Lowercase and capital W in cursive
- Headline
- The top line. Tall letters — b, d, f, h, k, l — reach it; t stops just short.
- Midline
- The x-height line. Short letters such as a, c, e, n and o stop here.
- Baseline
- The writing line. Every letter sits on it.
- Descender
- Below the writing line, for f, g, j, p, q, y and z.
Copy cursive W symbols
Four Unicode script forms of the letter, ready to paste. Tap any card to copy the single character.
Lowercase cursive w
𝓌
The standard script form of a lowercase w. The most widely supported of the four — it renders on effectively every current device.
Capital cursive W
𝒲
The script capital W, used to start a styled name. Well supported, though a few of the capitals come from a different Unicode block.
Bold lowercase w
𝔀
A heavier weight of the same letterform. Slightly less widely supported — older Android builds may show an empty box.
Bold capital W
𝓦
The bold script capital W. The most decorative of the four and the most likely to be missing a glyph on older devices.
| Style | Character | Unicode name |
|---|---|---|
| Lowercase cursive w | 𝓌 | Mathematical Script Small W |
| Capital cursive W | 𝒲 | Mathematical Script Capital W |
| Bold lowercase w | 𝔀 | Mathematical Bold Script Small W |
| Bold capital W | 𝓦 | Mathematical Bold Script Capital W |
These are Unicode characters, not a font, and not a picture of handwriting — the stroke-order guidance above is the handwritten form. They paste into most bios and display names, but usernames on Instagram, X, TikTok, Discord and Roblox reject them, and screen readers announce them character by character.
How to write a lowercase w in cursive
- 1
From the baseline, stroke up to the midline.
Pen finishes at the midline
- 2
Come down to the baseline in a point, then back up to the midline.
Pen finishes at the midline
- 3
Come down to the baseline in a second point, then back up to the midline.
Pen finishes at the midline
- 4
Exit with a small horizontal tail to the right at the midline.
Pen finishes at the midline
How to write a capital W in cursive
- 1
From the baseline, stroke up to the headline.
Pen finishes at the headline
- 2
Come down to the baseline in a point, then back up to the headline.
Pen finishes at the headline
- 3
Come down to the baseline in a second point, then back up to the headline.
Pen finishes at the headline
- 4
Finish with a small tail or curve to the right.
Pen finishes at the headline
Joining w to other letters
Coming in
Low upstroke into the first diagonal.
Going out
Exits high at the midline — part of the b/o/v/w high-exit group.
- 𝓌𝒽
wh
Very common word opening. The high exit climbs to the headline for h.
- 𝓌ℯ
we
High exit dropping into the e loop.
- 𝓌ℴ
wo
Two high-exit letters; keep the connecting tail short.
Common mistakes with cursive w
Rounding the valleys, so w reads as a narrow m or two u shapes.
Fix: Both valleys are pointed; w is built from v, not u.
Making the two halves unequal.
Fix: Both valleys are the same width and depth.
Exiting at the baseline rather than the midline.
Fix: w finishes high, like o, v and b.
Letters cursive w is mistaken for
| Confused with | How to tell them apart |
|---|---|
| m | m has three rounded arches and exits low; w has two pointed valleys and exits high. |
| v | w is v with a second valley added. |
| uu | A w with rounded valleys reads as two u characters. |
Practice words and names with w
Each of these puts w next to a different kind of join, so working through the list covers more than repeating the letter alone.
Words
- 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁will
- 𝓌𝒶𝓉ℯ𝓇water
- 𝓌𝒾𝓃𝒹ℴ𝓌window
- 𝒶𝓁𝓌𝒶𝓎𝓈always
- 𝓌𝒶𝓁𝓁ℴ𝓌wallow
Names
- 𝒲𝒾𝓁𝓁𝒾𝒶𝓂William
- 𝒲𝒾𝓁𝓁ℴ𝓌Willow
- 𝒲𝓎𝒶𝓉𝓉Wyatt
- 𝒲ℯ𝓃𝒹𝓎Wendy
Printable w practice sheet
Tracing rows on four-line guides for both cases, plus the words above. Prints on one page.
Copy and paste cursive W
The handwriting guidance above is about forming the letter with a pen. If what you actually want is script-style text to paste into a bio or a username, use this instead.
Script characters
𝒲𝒾𝓁𝓁𝒾𝒶𝓂
These are Unicode mathematical script characters, not a font. They paste into most social bios and usernames, but screen readers announce them character by character and some sites strip them — so avoid them in anything that needs to stay accessible or searchable.
About the letter w
w is the only letter that is genuinely harder in cursive than in print, because the connecting tail at the midline has no printed equivalent. People reading handwriting often take a cursive w for an m or for "uu", and the pointedness of the valleys is what resolves it.
It sits in the high-exit group with b, o and v, and in "wh" — one of the commonest openings in English — that high exit has to climb all the way to the headline. A w that exits low makes "wh" look broken.
The symmetry is the practice target. Two valleys of equal width and depth, both pointed. "wallow" and "willow" are useful drills because they put w next to the tall loop letters and expose any drift in height.
Learn these together: arch letters
These letters share the same base motion as w, so practising them as a group is faster than taking them alphabetically.
Frequently asked questions
What does a cursive w look like?
A lowercase cursive w is two pointed valleys — up, down, up, down, up — finishing with a small tail at the midline.
How do you write a capital W in cursive?
1. From the baseline, stroke up to the headline. 2. Come down to the baseline in a point, then back up to the headline. 3. Come down to the baseline in a second point, then back up to the headline. 4. Finish with a small tail or curve to the right.
Is cursive w hard to write?
It is rated moderate. w is the only letter that is genuinely harder in cursive than in print, because the connecting tail at the midline has no printed equivalent. People reading handwriting often take a cursive w for an m or for "uu", and the pointedness of the valleys is what resolves it.
Which letters does cursive w connect to?
Exits high at the midline — part of the b/o/v/w high-exit group. "wh" — Very common word opening. The high exit climbs to the headline for h. "we" — High exit dropping into the e loop. "wo" — Two high-exit letters; keep the connecting tail short.
Why does my cursive w look wrong?
Rounding the valleys, so w reads as a narrow m or two u shapes. Both valleys are pointed; w is built from v, not u. Making the two halves unequal. Both valleys are the same width and depth. Exiting at the baseline rather than the midline. w finishes high, like o, v and b.