A cursive capital W starts with a forward hook, then makes two rounded cups side by side, climbing back toward the top line after each, and ends with a short curve at the top that does not join. A lowercase cursive w is three undercurves and two slant strokes at midline height, finished with a small checkstroke that carries the join sideways.
How to write W in cursive, step by step
The steps follow a Zaner-Bloser-style school cursive. The lowercase w uses the same strokes as a u, plus one more undercurve and a checkstroke, so if your u is even, your w is most of the way there.
Capital W
Start a little below the top line. Curve forward and up to the top line.
Slant down to the baseline and round the bottom.
Undercurve up toward the top line to form the middle peak.
Slant down again to the baseline and round the second bottom.
Undercurve up to the top line and finish with a short overcurve to the right. The capital W does not join.
Keep the two cups the same width. The usual problem is a wide first cup and a cramped second one, because the hand runs out of room or speeds up near the end.
Lowercase w
Start at the baseline and undercurve up to the midline.
Slant down to the baseline.
Undercurve up to the midline and slant down again, keeping the point at the top sharp.
Undercurve up to the midline a third time.
Make a small checkstroke to the right and head sideways into the next letter.
The w has two points and ends high, where the u has two points and ends low. That last climb and checkstroke is the whole difference between them.
12 ways to write W
W is a wide letter in every style, and the styles mostly disagree about the middle. Copperplate and Spencerian keep the two rounded cups and shade each downstroke. Gothic builds W from three or four broad strokes, often with the middle strokes crossing. Italic and many brush hands use pointed bottoms, sometimes overlapping the two V shapes so the middle peak sits lower than the outside strokes. The flourished capital often loops the final stroke back over the top of the letter.
For names and monograms, the italic W is the most compact. The copperplate W takes up a lot of space, so plan the width before you start.
Common mistakes with W
the checkstroke is missing, so the end of the w reads as an undotted i (w looks like ui)
the third climb drops back to the baseline, so the w reads as uu
the first cup is wide and the second cramped, so the letter looks lopsided
the wh join sags instead of climbing straight to the top of the h's loop
The checkstroke matters most. A w that ends on the baseline is read as "u" plus "i", which turns "was" into something closer to "uias".
Joining W to other letters
Lowercase w leaves from the midline, so every join after it runs sideways. "Wi" and "wr" are the smoothest, because the next letter starts at the same height. "We" needs the join to dip slightly so the e has room for its loop. "Wa" and "wo" have to travel over to the right of the oval before the oval begins. "Wh" is one of the most common pairs in English, and the join has to climb from the midline all the way up to the top of the h's loop without sagging.
Hand-lettered exemplar coming soon
Wa
Hand-lettered exemplar coming soon
We
Hand-lettered exemplar coming soon
Wi
Hand-lettered exemplar coming soon
Wo
Hand-lettered exemplar coming soon
Wh
Hand-lettered exemplar coming soon
Wr
The capital W does not join, so "We" and "What" start the second letter with its own entry stroke after a small gap.
Practice W
The W sheet starts with a row of linked undercurves, three at a time, ending in a checkstroke. Then come the capital W, the lowercase w and the joins, including "wh".
Why is W called "double u" when it looks like two V's?
Because in medieval writing U and V were the same letter, written in either shape. Scribes who needed a sound for W wrote two of them side by side, as "uu" or "vv", and eventually joined them into one letter. English kept the name "double u", while French calls it "double v". Cursive W, with its two rounded cups, looks more like the "uu" version.
Why does my cursive w look like "ui" or "uu"?
"Ui" happens when the last undercurve is too tall or the checkstroke is missing, so it reads as an undotted i. "Uu" happens when the w drops to the baseline after the third climb. Keep the third climb at the midline, end with the checkstroke, and the w reads as one letter.
How do you write a fancy W for a signature?
Start from the school cursive capital and change one part. A signature W often lengthens the opening hook into a wide loop, or swings the final stroke up and back over the top of the letter. Another option is the italic W with overlapping cups, which is narrower and pairs well with long surnames. Pick one flourish and keep the two cups the same size, or the letter will look lopsided at a glance.
How wide should a cursive w be?
About one and a half times the width of a u. It has the same two cups plus a final climb, but the climb is short and the checkstroke is tight. A w that is twice as wide as a u breaks the spacing of the word around it. Write "uw" side by side and compare: the cups in both letters should match.
