A cursive capital X is two strokes: a curve that hooks over the top and comes down to the baseline with an undercurve, then a separate slant stroke from the top right that crosses it at the midline. A lowercase cursive x is an overcurve, a slant down and an undercurve, crossed by a short slant from the upper right to the lower left.
How to write X in cursive, step by step
The steps follow a Zaner-Bloser-style school cursive. Both forms of X take two strokes, and the first stroke carries the join, so you can finish the word and come back for the crossing stroke.
Capital X
Start a little below the top line. Curve forward and up to the top line, then over to the right.
Slant down to the baseline, curving the stroke so it bends slightly to the right.
Finish the first stroke with a short undercurve at the baseline.
Lift the pen. Start at the top line to the right of the first stroke and slant down to the left, crossing the first stroke at the midline and ending at the baseline.
The crossing point sets the balance of the letter. If the strokes meet above the midline, the X looks top-heavy; if they meet low, it looks like it is falling over. Some cursive models draw the two halves as back-to-back curves that touch instead of cross, which reads as a mirrored pair of C's.
Lowercase x
Start at the baseline and overcurve up to the midline, the same entry as an n.
Slant down to the baseline.
Undercurve out to the right. This exit carries the join to the next letter.
Lift the pen. Make a short slant stroke from just right of the midline down to the left, crossing the first stroke halfway between the midline and the baseline.
The first stroke on its own looks like a narrow n with only one hump. The cross turns it into an x, so it has to be clearly diagonal, not vertical.
12 ways to write X
Most styles keep the idea of two crossing strokes and change their weight. In copperplate and Spencerian the first stroke is a shaded curve and the crossing stroke is a hairline. Gothic uses a thick diagonal and a thin one, often with small feet at the baseline. Italic writes X as two straight strokes at the pen's fixed angle, so one comes out thick and one thin without any extra pressure. The flourished and signature versions extend one of the diagonals into a long tail.
Because X is short and symmetrical, it is a good letter for testing a new nib: the thick-thin contrast between the two strokes shows right away whether the pen is working.
Common mistakes with X
the crossing stroke is left off or too faint, so the x reads as a narrow n
the cross runs from upper left to lower right, parallel to the slant, instead of crossing it
the cross is placed too high or too low instead of halfway down the first stroke
the join is taken from the end of the cross instead of from the first stroke's undercurve
The crossing stroke is where the letter succeeds or fails. Make it after the first stroke is complete, at a clear diagonal, and through the middle.
Joining X to other letters
Lowercase x is joined from its first stroke, not from the cross. That means the exit is an ordinary undercurve from the baseline, and the cross is added afterward, the same way you cross a t or dot an i. "Xt" is common in words like "next" and "text", and it puts two crossed letters in a row; make both crosses at the end of the word. "Xp" in "expect" and "xc" in "excel" need the exit to climb to the midline. "Xi" and "xa" show up in "taxi" and "exam" and are the easiest pairs to start with.
Hand-lettered exemplar coming soon
Xt
Hand-lettered exemplar coming soon
Xp
Hand-lettered exemplar coming soon
Xi
Hand-lettered exemplar coming soon
Xa
Hand-lettered exemplar coming soon
Xc
Practice X
The X sheet separates the two strokes: one row of the first stroke alone, then the full letter, then the joins. Practicing the halves apart makes it easier to see which one is drifting.
Yes. The lowercase x is one of the few cursive letters that needs a pen lift, along with the dot on i and j and the cross on t. Write the first stroke and its join, keep going, then return for the cross. Many people wait until the end of the word so the rhythm of the writing is not broken.
Why does my cursive x look like an n or a backward c?
If the cross is missing or too faint, the first stroke reads as a narrow n. If the first stroke is too round and the cross too short, it can look like a c with a mark beside it. Make the first stroke a narrow, slanted hump and run the cross well past it on both sides.
How do you write a capital X for a signature?
Keep the two-stroke structure and exaggerate the crossing stroke. A signature X often stretches the second diagonal below the baseline into a long tail that underlines the rest of the name. Another approach is the back-to-back curve version, which looks more decorative and avoids a hard cross.
Where did the letter X come from?
The Romans took X from a western form of the Greek alphabet, where it stood for the "ks" sound. In the eastern Greek alphabet the same shape became chi, the letter in "Christ" and "chiasmus", with a different sound. X stayed near the end of the Latin alphabet, and Y and Z were added after it later.
