# Can you write in cursive all the alphabet? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 12, 2009, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-write-in-cursive-all-the-alphabet/513544 "2009-10-12T16:43:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-write-in-cursive-all-the-alphabet/513544/41 "2009-10-12T23:50:19Z")
I wonder what the youngest age is to have learned it in school. I’m 24, and I learned it in school. Heck, I had to write in cursive until 5th grade, and didn’t start writing in print until like 9th. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-write-in-cursive-all-the-alphabet/513544/42 "2009-10-12T23:57:26Z")
I don’t think “cursive” means what you think it means. Any joined-up handwriting is cursive. I was never taught anything that looks like the funny archaic _Peanuts_ kid writing, but I still write in cursive. Unless you lift your pen up after every letter, you are too. [A relevant blog post](http://elementaryteacher.wordpress.com/2007/10/28/how-american-cursive-appears-to-the-british/). ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-write-in-cursive-all-the-alphabet/513544/43 "2009-10-12T23:59:56Z")
28, learned it in school; it was a large part of Grade 3 for me. I still remember how to write all the letters, and occasionally still do, though it’s usually more of a hybrid with printing. I was never difficult for me and I’ve always been able to write legibly without any pain or trouble (which I’ve heard and read a lot of people complain about). For me, it’s just something that I know how to do, and I don’t have to think about it too much to do it again. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-write-in-cursive-all-the-alphabet/513544/44 "2009-10-12T23:59:56Z")
I thought yes, but then I went through the alphabet and made it to capital F before I wasn’t sure if I was doing it right. ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-write-in-cursive-all-the-alphabet/513544/45 "2009-10-13T00:25:42Z")
Only child here. Entertained myself into adulthood by writing in cursive. I’m surprised at the number of people who don’t use cursive anymore. Sad, I know. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![BaneSidhe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c5a1d2/32.png) [@BaneSidhe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BaneSidhe)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-write-in-cursive-all-the-alphabet/513544/46 "2009-10-13T00:31:27Z")
I still write a lot of stuff down longhand. And the mutant “Q” and “Z” thing always made mw wonder what in the world the person who came up with those was smoking. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-write-in-cursive-all-the-alphabet/513544/47 "2009-10-13T00:40:47Z")
Yes, I can do it. I write in script all the time. Except I don’t use the weird capitals. My G looks like a giant lowercase g, and my S looks like a block-print S, but a little more schmoopy and it does connect to the next letter. I can make my script extremely legible. Much more legible than most people’s “printing.” I used to write flooring orders on a quadruplicate form in script, and never got a single question due to handwriting confusion. ETA: I do fill out forms in drafting-style block print. Just wanted to say that in case anybody blasts me because they think I fill out forms in cursive because I know it’s legible. I don’t. > [@dangermom](#): > > There are a lot of different cursive styles though. I’m making my kids learn Italic–much prettier and more practical. What’s the difference? Could you point to a site with samples/examples? ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Sensitive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/58956e/32.png) [@Darth\_Sensitive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Sensitive)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-write-in-cursive-all-the-alphabet/513544/48 "2009-10-13T00:41:17Z")
21, mandatory in 3rd grade. Still can. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-write-in-cursive-all-the-alphabet/513544/49 "2009-10-13T01:27:54Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > When I was in grade school, we learned a very archaic system, with the Q that looks like a 2, and an upper case L that looks like the symbol for the British pound, minus the line across the middle. I hated it then, I hate it now, and I write (when I’m forced to) mostly in the block lettering I learned in high school drafting class. Sounds like we learned the same system (I’m 43). And like you, to this day I mostly write in the all-uppercase block lettering I learned in drafting class. Strangely, I took an online handwriting analysis quiz (it showed you various styles of letters and had you pick which one most closely resembled the way you do it, so yeah, I didn’t expect it to be all that accurate) and it analyzed the way I write one particular letter as indicating that I’m a “basically honest person”. Then it analyzed my answer to the question, “Do you print, even though your cursive is legible?” (yes) to indicate that I’m a “basically _dishonest_ person” — apparently, I’m subconsciously trying to hide something by printing instead of revealing myself in my cursive writing :rolleyes: My cursive is kind of peculiar, though. You know all those uppercase letters that really don’t look at all like their printed counterparts? I write G, Q, and Z as if I was printing them (but I don’t do that with, say, A, J, or N). I started doing that in high school. No conscious thought involved, I just gradually started writing that way. ---
**Author:** ![Claire\_Beauchamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ec9cab/32.png) [@Claire\_Beauchamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claire_Beauchamp)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-write-in-cursive-all-the-alphabet/513544/50 "2009-10-13T01:40:04Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > You know all those uppercase letters that really don’t look at all like their printed counterparts? I write G, Q, and Z as if I was printing them (but I don’t do that with, say, A, J, or N). I started doing that in high school. No conscious thought involved, I just gradually started writing that way. My cursive is perfectly fine, and I don’t do “drafting” lettering. Still, I started using printed capitals and cursive lower-case in about the 7th grade (we were only graded on handwriting through 4th or 5th grade). I don’t remember exactly why, but I suspect two primary reasons: I don’t like the cursive capitals for my initials, and it would have irritated my main 7th grade teacher, and despite being a Good Girl and life-long Teacher’s Pet, that would have pleased me. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-write-in-cursive-all-the-alphabet/513544/51 "2009-10-13T01:45:11Z")
I voted no based on the way the question was explained. I took short cuts from day one on capital letters because the purpose of cursive is to write faster than printing. I consider them cursive but they’re my cursive. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-write-in-cursive-all-the-alphabet/513544/52 "2009-10-13T03:05:42Z")
Using printed letters for some of the capitals isn’t the same as being able to write all of a cursive alphabet. Reason all you want, but mixed is mixed. I’m determining if you you can do a complete set of a cursive alphabet. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-write-in-cursive-all-the-alphabet/513544/53 "2009-10-13T03:28:09Z")
Yep, just grabbed a piece of paper, and can do. Although when actually handwriting I change the mechanics to some idiosyncratic things (like connecting some "t"s at the crossbar rather than at the bottom, or starting the upper arc of the capital “Q” so far down the lower left that the “2” almost closes, and so forth). Matter of fact, I was taught TWO cursive methods in school - the public school of my early grades taught it as the common American mid-20th-century cursive, but the Catholic middle school insisted on an older variant “international” Palmer method. The effect as is to be expected was a bad deterioration of quality due to mechanics of writing that mishmashed the two methods, but hey, you could still read it if you tried. Then came college where the only person who had to understand your notes was you (actual papers were typed, on a manual Smith Corona, kids) and the priority was speed and accuracy in note-taking; so I ended up developing a form of speedwriting that combined cursive with fast print with abbreviations and code symbols . . . and then when after some time of that I noticed that when I was able to actually sit down and write in a calm, deliberate manner, my non-hurried handwriting had transformed and was now much more legible – and in violation of most of what Mr. Palmer and whoever invented the other method stood for. Go figure. My mother to this day has a most gorgeous “Teacher’s script” handwriting, in fact with the passing of time it takes on an almost artistic quality; and she keeps using primarily longhand on an everyday basis. Meanwhile I’m afraid \*\*my \*\*script is beginning to go to the dogs again, because I do 99% of my writing direct-to-keyboard… ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-write-in-cursive-all-the-alphabet/513544/54 "2009-10-13T04:13:19Z")
> [@cwthree](#): > > Similar here, but I can only claim one non-English language (Persian). I’m kind of waffly as to whether Persian and Arabic handwriting really counts as cursive, since I don’t think of either language as having a form analagous to Roman-alphabet “block printing.” Yeah, I would say no, since ALL writing in the Arabic alphabet is “cursive”. But if you want to count it, I can write Arabic/Persian as well. Because I’m an idiot, I keep studying languages that force me to learn a new writing system. I can read and write four different alphabets now. :smack: From now on, I’m only studying languages that use the alphabets I already know. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-write-in-cursive-all-the-alphabet/513544/55 "2009-10-13T04:19:44Z")
> [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > Using printed letters for some of the capitals isn’t the same as being able to write all of a cursive alphabet. Reason all you want, but mixed is mixed. I’m determining if you you can do a complete set of a cursive alphabet. Well then, the short answer is, “I can, but I don’t” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mudshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mudshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mudshark)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-write-in-cursive-all-the-alphabet/513544/56 "2009-10-13T06:21:11Z")
Yes I can, and I almost exclusivey write in cursive, but not the “proper” way. Any time I have to start a word with a capital letter in cursive, it is almost always somewhat of a mix between print and cursive, with the exception on B, C, I, J, K, L, V, and W. Which all are pretty much the way they are supposed to be. P and D look don’t even look like real letters. More like some kind of abstract symbol when I write them in capital form. Lowercase cursive is pretty much how it is supposed to be. Oh, and I’m 23, learned in 2nd grade, and won first place for the best handwriting in the county fair that year. ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-write-in-cursive-all-the-alphabet/513544/57 "2009-10-13T14:05:08Z")
Here I was going to win the thread by being able to write cursive in both Latin _AND_ Cyrillic… turns out it’s nothing special. Stupid worldly dopers 😃 > [@gallows\_fodder](#): > > Not only can I write in cursive with the Latin alphabet, but I’ve recently learned how to write cursive using the Cyrillic alphabet as well. > [@Kyla](#): > > Yes, in Latin and Cyrillic letters. > [@Desert\_Nomad](#): > > Yes, in both English and Russian (Cyrillic) and I think Arabic qualifies as cursive too. > [@dangermom](#): > > I learned Cyrillic cursive in college. That was great fun! Gotta love Russian cursive handwriting - how words with l, m, t, sh, shch, i and p basically just look like a long string of ‘_uuuuu_’ with some dashes here and there. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-write-in-cursive-all-the-alphabet/513544/58 "2009-10-13T14:15:02Z")
My initial response was “of course; what kind of a maroon doesn’t know cursive?” but it’s my understanding that they don’t teach that in school anymore. I feel old ☹ In any event, yes, I can write all of the cursive alphabet, capital \*and \*lower case letters, correctly but my personal writing style is much perttier! ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-write-in-cursive-all-the-alphabet/513544/59 "2009-10-13T14:25:18Z")
No, I can’t. I could do the majority of the uppercase letters, except J and Z, and a few others that I hope I remembered. The lower case was much better, I could do them all but z, still can’t figure that one out. My hand writing was so horrible that I had to change from a cursive script to block, and even then it’s hard to read. ---
**Author:** ![Terraplane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@Terraplane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terraplane)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-write-in-cursive-all-the-alphabet/513544/60 "2009-10-13T14:33:16Z")
I had to vote no because of one letter (capital Q). To make any of it legible I had to write everything very slowly and deliberately. Forcing myself to write at a normal handwriting speed results in sloppy half gibberish as my hand is moving faster than I remember how to make the letters. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-write-in-cursive-all-the-alphabet/513544.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-write-in-cursive-all-the-alphabet/513544.md?page=4)