Can You Recognize All of These Cursive Letters?

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About This Quiz

Are you a cursive expert? No, we're not talking about the band; we're referring to the way of writing that is also called longhand or script. If you think you know cursive, then this is the quiz for you. Test your knowledge to find out how many of these cursive letters you can identify.

Unless you have actually studied cursive - and we don't just mean how to write in cursive, but also the tradition of cursive writing - you may not know exactly what cursive writing is. Cursive writing exists in many languages, not just English. Cursive writing merely refers to writing that is joined. And, even in terms of cursive, there are varying forms. For instance, cursive writing during which the pen does not leave the paper for the entire word is called "formal" cursive. Cursive writing during which the pen may leave the paper during a word is called "casual" cursive. We bet you did not know that! But, sadly, given that some school districts soon may be removing the teaching of cursive from their educational requirements, it may all be called "formal" soon enough.

So, while you still have the skills, take this cursive quiz.

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Let's start easy. Which letter is this?

Did you know that the letter 'b' is over 3,000 years old? It used to be referred to as 'beta,' which is why people today sometimes use beta for something that is 'in second.'

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Can you identify this capital letter?

Z is an Etruscan letter. What does it mean to be Etruscan? The Etruscan civilization was a powerful civilization in ancient Italy.

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How about this one?

If you are ever playing hang-man or Wheel of Fortune, guess this letter! It is the most frequently used of all the English consonants.

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You remember this one, don't you?

This letter has maintained its position as the fourth letter of the alphabet for all of its existence. Although the shape of the written letter is a bit different than it has been historically, it has always held a rounded shape.

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Which cursive letter is this?

This letter is also Greek, and is known in the Greek alphabet as upsilon. In historic Latin, is was rarely used.

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Australians pronounce this one a bit differently. What letter is this?

Did you know that in the 1800s, it was common for people to not pronounce /h/ in words like hospital and herb without the beginning sound? In the U.S., people still pronounce herb without the /h/.

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Do you recognize this cursive letter?

Have you ever thought of transcribing this letter simply using two 'u's; /uu/? This is what people who wrote in Old German did.

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Can you identify this lower-case cursive letter?

In 3000 B.C., the letter /f/ began as a picture of a snake. Over thousands of years, it has slowly changed to be the letter it is today in the English alphabet.

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This cursive letter is not used a whole lot. Which one is it?

Have you ever read the words like Xander or xylophone and wondered what the point of the /x/ is? This letter is said to be like a phonetic chameleon since it doesn't always have a distinct sound.

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Do you know this letter?

Although this letter was related to the /c/ in the Phoenician alphabet, the Greeks used it for the guttural /ga/ sound.

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I'll give you a hint...It's not an M. What letter is this?

The letter was also used for both consonant and vowel sounds until the 1500s. However, it did not become popular in English for another hundred years.

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This letter is often paired with a "c." Do you know what it is?

The capital version of this letter is easier to write in cursive than the lower-case, since it has fewer loops. This sound is frequently used in English and in Germanic languages.

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Tony the Tiger uses this letter. Which one is it?

The United States has had many presidents whose name began with this letter. From all the Georges to Gerald and Grover, this must be a presidential letter!

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