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Cursive script is a style of handwriting in which the letters of a word are joined together, and cursive F is a good test of the control you built on earlier letters. It rewards a steady slant, a calm hand, and attention to where each stroke starts and stops on the lines.

Trace the Cursive Letter F

Start with the worksheet before you try cursive F from memory. The sheet shows a large model at the top, then dotted rows to trace, then blank lines for free writing. Trace the tall loop first and check that it reaches the top line without going past it. Then trace the lower loop and check that it goes below the baseline by about the same distance as the tall loop goes above the midline. After two traced rows, cover the model and write one row on your own. Compare that row with the model and fix only the worst part, usually the lower loop. Do not fill a whole page with fast copies of this letter, because a lower loop that crashes into the next line is hard to fix once it becomes a habit.

Download the Letter F worksheet (PDF)

Before You Start

What Cursive F Looks Like

Capital cursive F in the model on this page starts with a tall stem from the top line down to the baseline, then sweeps along the baseline to the right, then curves at the top to the left into a hook, and finishes with a short bar across the stem at the midline. It fills the full height from the top line to the baseline, and the bar at the midline is part of the finished letter, not a join to the next letter. Small cursive f starts at the baseline, rises in a tall loop to the top line, comes back down through the baseline, loops below the baseline, returns to the baseline, and exits to the right at about midline height. The small form is taller than most small letters at the top and lower than most small letters at the bottom, which is why spacing below the line matters so much for cursive F.

How to Write Capital Cursive F

Capital this letter in the model on this page is written with pen lifts between its parts, which is normal for a capital letter. Do not try to force the capital form into one stroke, because the top hook and the midline bar will end up in the wrong places. The step cards below follow the order shown in the diagram on this page.

How to Write Lowercase Cursive f

Small cursive f is the form you will use most often inside words, and it is the only small letter on this page that reaches both above the midline and below the baseline. It is written in one main flow, with the tall loop, the lower loop, and the exit all connected, and the step cards below break that flow into its three parts so you can check each loop.

How to Write Cursive F: 10-Minute Daily Practice Routine

Ten minutes a day is enough for cursive F if you practice the two loops separately first. A whole letter written fast with both loops wrong does not help, even if the row is long.

1. Warm up for two minutes: draw tall loops to the top line, five in a row, then small loops below the baseline, five in a row, without joining them yet.
2. Trace for three minutes: trace one row on the worksheet, then write the same row without tracing, and circle the letter where both loops are the right size.
3. Join for three minutes: write fa, fe, fi, fo, fu, and fl, one pair at a time, and check that the lower loop finishes before the connector starts.
4. Write words for two minutes: write Fish, Fox, and Frog slowly, then read them back and fix only the worst loop in each word.

Words That Start With F in Cursive

Practice this letter with words you already know, so you can focus on the two loops instead of the spelling. Say each word as you write it, and pause after the first letter to check both loops before you finish the word.

Names are useful for cursive F because the capital form appears at the start, where it is easy to see. Write Fiona and Felix in a column and compare the capital forms. If one midline bar is much longer than the other, the bar changed, not the letter itself.

Common Mistakes With Cursive F

How to Join F Cursive Letters

Small cursive f joins from a rise at midline height, after the lower loop has finished. That rule is the key to cursive F, because the lower loop must be complete before any connector starts. The pairs fa, fe, fi, fo, fu, and fl are the best first practice, because each one tests a different next letter shape. Into a and o, keep the exit level and let the next oval start at the midline. Into e, keep the exit short so the small loop of e does not start too high. Into i, use a short connector and add the dot only after you finish the whole word. Into l, rise a little higher, because l needs a tall entry, but do not let the f tall loop itself grow wider to meet it.

Joining cursive F to the next letter

Capital this letter is different. In the school model on this page, capital F does not join to the next letter, because it ends with a short bar at the midline, not with a baseline exit. Write the capital, lift the pen, and start the next letter separately. That lift is normal for capital letters and does not break the word, because the reader still reads the capital and the small letters as one word. For small f, the opposite rule applies: do not lift inside the letter. Keep the pen down through the tall loop, the lower loop, and the exit, and lift only after the next letter has started. Practice after and often once the basic pairs feel steady, because those words show how f joins in the middle of a word, not just at the start.

How to Write F in Cursive: Practice Sentences

Sentences teach spacing and stamina, which single letters cannot teach. Write each sentence three times: once very slowly, once at a normal pace, and once without stopping.

Fiona found a fish in the fountain.
Felix flew a kite in the field.
The frog jumped over the fence.
We practice cursive F with fish and fox every day.

Letter F in Cursive for Names and Signatures

For a first name that starts with cursive F, keep the capital a little larger and more open than in ordinary writing, because it reads better at a glance and gives the name a clear start. The rest of the name should stay at normal small letter size. For a signature, the same capital can be written faster and looser, but the tall stem and the short midline bar must stay visible. If a signature loses the bar, it reads as a tall hook, so slow it down until the bar returns, then build speed back up.

Teaching Cursive F to a Child

Teach small cursive f after the tall loop letters b, h, and l, because f uses the same tall loop and then adds a lower loop. Let the child trace the tall loop first, then the lower loop, then the whole letter from memory. Keep sessions short, ten minutes a day, and praise the finished lower loop before you correct anything else. A useful game is to write f and t side by side and ask which one goes below the baseline. That one question teaches the key rule of cursive F faster than a long list of rules. For a child who writes with the left hand, tilt the paper a little to the right and move the paper, not just the hand, as the line goes on, so the hand does not cover the part of the letter that still needs checking.

Cursive F, Frequently Asked Questions