How to Write the Letter V in Calligraphy and Cursive
Cursive V is a single rounded cup that ends high instead of low: the lowercase finishes with a small checkstroke at the midline, and the capital usually does not join at all.
A cursive capital V starts with a forward hook at the top line, slants down to a rounded bottom, climbs back up to the top line and ends there with a short curve to the right. A lowercase cursive v begins with an overcurve, slants down, undercurves back up to the midline and finishes with a small checkstroke that leads sideways into the next letter.
How to write V in cursive, step by step
The steps follow a Zaner-Bloser-style school cursive. Unlike the printed letter, the cursive V has a rounded bottom, not a sharp point. What makes it a V rather than a U is where it ends.
Capital V
Start a little below the top line. Curve forward and up to the top line.
Slant down to the baseline, rounding the stroke as it turns.
Undercurve up the right side, all the way to the top line.
Finish with a short overcurve that bends slightly to the right. Stop there; the capital V does not join.
The right side should rise to the full height of the left. If it stops halfway, the V looks like it is leaning into the next letter, and readers may take it for a U that was never finished.
Lowercase v
Start at the baseline and make an overcurve up to the midline, the same entry as an n or m.
Slant down to the baseline.
Undercurve back up to the midline.
Make the checkstroke: a tiny curve or loop to the right at the midline, then a short stroke that heads sideways.
The checkstroke is what defines the v. It belongs to the same small family as b, o and w, the letters that leave from the midline instead of the baseline.
12 ways to write V
V splits the styles in two. Pointed-pen hands such as copperplate and Spencerian keep the rounded cursive bottom and shade the first downstroke, leaving the right side as a hairline. Gothic, italic and most brush styles go back to a sharp point at the baseline, with a thick left stroke and a thin right one meeting in a V-shaped notch. The flourished capital often extends the opening hook into a wide loop above the letter.
If you want a V that is easy to read on an envelope or a card, the italic and monoline versions are the safest. The flourished V can be mistaken for a U or a W at small sizes.
Common mistakes with V
the checkstroke is left off and the stroke drops back to the baseline, so the v reads as a u
the checkstroke is made as a large loop, so it looks like an extra e
the join after the v sags to the baseline instead of leaving sideways from the midline
the bottom is made as a sharp point in school cursive, mixing print and cursive forms in one word
Dropping the checkstroke is the one that changes words. Without it, the next letter has to start from the baseline, and the v turns into a u.
Joining V to other letters
Lowercase v leaves from the midline, so its joins run sideways rather than up from below. "Vi" and "vy" are the easiest, because the checkstroke dips into the next letter's stroke at the same height. "Ve" is the tricky one: the join has to dip slightly so that the e has room to make its loop, but not so far that it reaches the baseline. "Va" and "vo" ask the checkstroke to carry over to the right side of the oval before the oval starts.
Hand-lettered exemplar coming soon
Ve
Hand-lettered exemplar coming soon
Vi
Hand-lettered exemplar coming soon
Va
Hand-lettered exemplar coming soon
Vo
Hand-lettered exemplar coming soon
Vy
Words that begin with a capital, such as "Very" and "Victor", start the second letter fresh after a small gap, because the capital V finishes up at the top line.
Practice V
The V sheet includes a row of checkstrokes on their own, so you can practice the end of the letter before the whole shape. After that come the capital V, the lowercase v and the joins.
Usually because the letter ends at the baseline. A u has two downstrokes and drops back to the baseline before it exits; a v has one cup and stays at the midline. Check the end of every v: if you see a stroke going down after the cup, you have written a u. Finishing with the checkstroke and a sideways join fixes it.
What is a checkstroke in cursive?
It is the small retraced curve at the midline that ends the lowercase b, o, v and w. It acts as a brake: the pen stops climbing, turns slightly, and moves out sideways. In the v it sits at the top right of the cup. Make it small. A large checkstroke loop can look like an extra e.
Is a cursive V pointed or round at the bottom?
In school cursive it is round. The slant stroke curves into the undercurve, the same way it does in a u. Pointed V shapes appear in print, italic and gothic, where the pen stops at the baseline and changes direction sharply. Both are correct in their own style; mixing them in one word is what looks wrong.
Where did the letter V come from?
V goes back to the Phoenician letter waw, which became the Greek upsilon. The Romans wrote it as a V and used it for both the vowel U and the consonant sound we now write as W or V. The V carved in Roman inscriptions is the same pointed shape you see in gothic and italic capitals today.
