A cursive capital K is written in two strokes: a stem that curves in from just below the top line and slants down to the baseline, then a second stroke that comes in from the top right, touches the stem near the midline and kicks out to the baseline. A lowercase cursive k starts like an l, with a tall loop and a straight downstroke, then climbs back up to make a small closed loop at the midline before a short leg kicks out to the right.
How to write K in cursive, step by step
The steps follow a Zaner-Bloser-style school cursive. The capital K is built like the capital H for its first stroke, so if you already write an H, the stem will feel familiar.
Capital K
Start a little below the top line. Curve forward, up and over to the top line.
Pull a slanted stroke straight down to the baseline. Lift your pen.
Start the second stroke at the top line, to the right of the stem. Curve down and in toward the stem.
Touch the stem, or come very close to it, just above the midline. Some models make a tiny loop here.
Curve forward and out, down to the baseline, and finish with an undercurve.
The second stroke is a double curve: in toward the stem, then out again. Drawn as two straight lines, like the printed K, it loses the cursive slant.
Lowercase k
Start at the baseline and make an undercurve up to the top line.
Loop back to the left and pull a straight slant stroke down to the baseline.
Without lifting, overcurve back up toward the midline, to the right of the stem.
Curve forward and around, then come back in to close a small loop against the stem just below the midline.
Slant down to the right to the baseline and exit with an undercurve.
The first half of the k is the same as an l or an h. What makes it a k is the small closed loop. Keep it below the midline and no wider than a lowercase o, or the letter starts to look like an h with something stuck to it.
12 ways to write K
K is one of the letters where styles disagree most about the second stroke. Copperplate and Spencerian capitals often turn the arm into a long hairline that swings in from the left before curling into the stem, with a heavy shade on the downstroke. Gothic and italic use straight, angled arms that meet the stem at a point, close to the printed letter. Modern and brush styles often swap the lowercase loop for a simple bump.
Look at where each style makes its arm meet the stem. That single point, high or low, looped or sharp, does most of the work of setting the style.
Common mistakes with K
the small loop of the lowercase k is left open, so the k reads as an h
the lowercase k's loop rises above the midline and grows wider than an o, so it looks stuck on rather than part of the letter
the arm of the capital K misses the stem and floats beside it, leaving a gap at the midline
the capital K's arm and leg are drawn as two straight lines, so the letter loses the cursive slant
Most lowercase k problems come from the small loop being left open. An open loop turns the k into an h, so close it against the stem every time, even when writing fast.
Joining K to other letters
The lowercase k ends at the baseline with an undercurve, so it joins easily into letters that start low. "Ke" and "ki" are good first drills because the exit flows straight into the next entry. "Ka" asks the exit to climb up and over to start the a's oval. "Kn", as in "know" and "knee", tests whether you can keep the leg short so the n's first hump has room. In "ky" the leg runs into a letter that drops below the baseline, which shows whether the slant of the leg matches the slant of the y.
Hand-lettered exemplar coming soon
Ke
Hand-lettered exemplar coming soon
Ki
Hand-lettered exemplar coming soon
Ka
Hand-lettered exemplar coming soon
Kn
Hand-lettered exemplar coming soon
Ky
In Zaner-Bloser-style cursive the capital K usually joins too, through the undercurve at the end of its leg.
Practice K
The K sheet starts with rows of the lowercase loop on its own, then the capital K, the lowercase k and the joins to trace. Print it at 100% scale on US Letter or A4.
Because the two letters share everything up to the baseline: the undercurve, the tall loop and the straight downstroke. The difference comes after. An h makes an open hump and comes back down. A k makes a small loop that closes against the stem, then kicks a short leg out. If the loop is open or sits too high, readers see an h. Write the pair "hk" several times in a row and compare the second halves directly.
How do you write a fancy capital K?
Start with the two-stroke school K and change one part of it. A common fancy K stretches the arm into a long hairline that starts well to the left, crosses over the stem and loops back. Another adds a loop at the point where the arm meets the stem and extends the leg into a long swash under the following letters.
Is a cursive capital K hard to learn?
It is harder than most capitals because the second stroke has to touch the first in one exact spot without the pen being on the paper in between. Practice the arm on its own against stems you have already written, and add the leg once it lands in the same place each time. Handwriting programs often group K with H for this reason: the stem is already learned.
Where does the letter K come from?
K comes from the Phoenician letter kaph, often linked to the palm of a hand. The Greeks adopted it as kappa. The Romans mostly wrote the same sound with C, so K was rare in Latin and survived mainly in a few words. Medieval English scribes began using K for the hard sound before e, i and n, where C could be misread. The k in "knife" and "knight" was once pronounced, which is why those words still start with it.
