A cursive capital M is one stroke: an overcurve up to the top line, then three slanted downstrokes joined by rounded overturns, ending with an undercurve. A lowercase cursive m is the same idea at midline height: an overcurve from the baseline, three downstrokes and three humps, then an exit stroke. The n has only two.
How to write M in cursive, step by step
The steps follow a Zaner-Bloser-style school cursive. In this model the capital M is close to a large lowercase m, which makes it one of the easier capitals to learn.
Capital M
Start a little above the baseline. Make an overcurve rising to the top line, the first hump.
Pull a slanted stroke down to the baseline.
Retrace up the same line partway, then overturn again to the top line for the second hump.
Slant down to the baseline again.
Retrace and overturn a third time. In many models this last hump is slightly lower than the first two.
Slant down to the baseline and finish with a short undercurve. The capital M can join the next letter.
The retrace is what keeps the humps rounded on top and pointed at the bottom. If you loop at the baseline instead, the M turns into a row of small e's.
Lowercase m
Start at the baseline. Make an overcurve up to the midline and over.
Slant down to the baseline.
Retrace up and make a second overturn at the midline, then slant down.
Repeat for the third hump.
From the last downstroke, swing out with an undercurve to the right.
Keep the downstrokes parallel and evenly spaced. The gaps between them should be about as wide as the inside of an o.
12 ways to write M
M shows the contrast between thick and thin strokes better than almost any letter, because it has three downstrokes in a row. In copperplate and brush lettering, each downstroke is heavy and each overturn is a hairline, which gives the letter a strong rhythm. Gothic M is three tall, straight posts with diamond-shaped feet. Modern bouncy styles often vary the heights of the humps on purpose. Italic M is narrow and angular, with branching strokes instead of round overturns.
For a monogram or wedding initial, the flourished capital M can carry a long entry swash from the left, since the letter is wide enough to balance it.
Common mistakes with M
the lowercase m is written with two humps and reads as an n, or with four humps and reads as mn
the humps are different widths, so one of them disappears when you read the word quickly
the downstrokes are looped at the baseline instead of retraced, which turns the m into a row of small e's
Hump counting sounds trivial, but it is the M mistake that causes real confusion in words with several m's and n's together, such as "common" or "minimum".
Joining M to other letters
The lowercase m both starts and ends at the baseline, so it fits between almost any two letters. The challenge is spacing: an m is already wide, and a long join after it stretches the word. Keep the exit short in "me" and "ma". In "mo", the exit has to rise to the midline to meet the o. In "mp", the p's upstroke starts from the m's exit and climbs above the midline before dropping below the baseline.
Hand-lettered exemplar coming soon
Me
Hand-lettered exemplar coming soon
Ma
Hand-lettered exemplar coming soon
Mi
Hand-lettered exemplar coming soon
Mo
Hand-lettered exemplar coming soon
Mp
Practice M
The M sheet has a row of plain overturns as a warm-up, then the capital M, the lowercase m and its joins to trace. It prints on Letter or A4.
A lowercase cursive m has three humps and a lowercase n has two. The first hump is the entry stroke, which is why people sometimes count wrong: they see two humps after the entry and add a third. The Zaner-Bloser-style capital M also has three overturns. Some other models, including several older business scripts, start the capital with a loop and show only two humps after it, so count the humps on whichever exemplar you are copying.
Why does my cursive m look like an n?
Usually because the humps are uneven. When one hump is much narrower than the others, the eye skips it. Make all three the same width and the same height, and keep the downstrokes on the same slant.
Where does the letter M come from?
M goes back to a Phoenician letter called mem, drawn as a wavy line and thought to stand for water. The Greeks turned it into mu, and the Romans gave it the shape we know. The humps of the cursive m are, loosely, a return to that wave.
How do you keep the humps of an m even?
Write a row of plain overturns before you write the letter: up, over, down, up, over, down, without stopping. Then circle any hump that is taller, wider or more pointed than the others. That warm-up shows you whether the problem is the height of the turn, the slant of the downstroke or the spacing. Most people find that their last hump is the one that collapses, because the hand speeds up as it heads for the exit stroke.
Graph paper or a slant-line guide sheet helps too. Lining each downstroke up with a slant line keeps all three humps the same width.
