Happy birthday in cursive
"happy birthday" takes 4 strokes to write in cursive: the letters in one flow, then dot the i and cross the t. Follow the letter-by-letter steps below and print the free worksheet to trace and copy it.
Lowercase
Capitalized
Free happy birthday worksheet
Happy birthday in cursive practice sheet
1 page · US Letter, prints on A4 · free
"happy birthday" on three-line guides in two sizes: a solid model, dashed copies to trace, and blank lines to write it on your own.
Want it with other words or a different line size? Use the worksheet generator.
How to write happy birthday in cursive
- Start with the h (undercurve, loop, slant, overcurve, slant, undercurve): a tall loop followed by a hump, like an l and an n joined together.
- Swing up into the a (downcurve, undercurve, slant, undercurve): a small oval closed at the midline, then a slant down and an undercurve out.
- Swing up into the p (undercurve, slant, loop, overcurve, curve back, undercurve): a long slant below the baseline with a small bowl that closes on the baseline.
- Swing up into the p (undercurve, slant, loop, overcurve, curve back, undercurve): a long slant below the baseline with a small bowl that closes on the baseline.
- Swing up into the y (overcurve, slant, undercurve, slant, loop, overcurve): an overcurve, a slant, an undercurve and a second slant that drops below the baseline into a loop.
- Start with the b (undercurve, loop, slant, undercurve, checkstroke): a tall loop that comes back down to the baseline, then a small curve ending in a checkstroke at the midline.
- From the checkstroke of the b, write the i (undercurve, slant, undercurve; dot): a short undercurve and slant, with the dot added after the word is finished.
- Swing up into the r (undercurve, slide right, slant, undercurve): an undercurve, a short slide to the right at the midline, then a slant down.
- Swing up into the t (undercurve, slant, undercurve; cross): a tall retraced undercurve and slant, shorter than the l, crossed after the word is written.
- Swing up into the h (undercurve, loop, slant, overcurve, slant, undercurve): a tall loop followed by a hump, like an l and an n joined together.
- Swing up into the d (downcurve, undercurve, slant, undercurve): the same oval as a, then an undercurve up to the topline and a slant back down.
- Swing up into the a (downcurve, undercurve, slant, undercurve): a small oval closed at the midline, then a slant down and an undercurve out.
- Swing up into the y (overcurve, slant, undercurve, slant, loop, overcurve): an overcurve, a slant, an undercurve and a second slant that drops below the baseline into a loop.
- After the word, dot the i, cross the t.
How the letters in happy birthday connect
- ha h to a: an undercurve join. The exit stroke of the h swings up into the a.
- ap a to p: an undercurve join. The exit stroke of the a swings up into the p.
- pp p to p: an undercurve join. The exit stroke of the p swings up into the p.
- py p to y: an undercurve join. The exit stroke of the p swings up into the y.
- Lift the pencil and leave a gap about the width of an o before the next word.
- bi b to i: a checkstroke join. The b ends at the midline, so the i starts from the top instead of from the baseline.
- ir i to r: an undercurve join. The exit stroke of the i swings up into the r.
- rt r to t: an undercurve join. The exit stroke of the r swings up into the t.
- th t to h: an undercurve join. The exit stroke of the t swings up into the h.
- hd h to d: an undercurve join. The exit stroke of the h swings up into the d.
- da d to a: an undercurve join. The exit stroke of the d swings up into the a.
- ay a to y: an undercurve join. The exit stroke of the a swings up into the y.
The letters in happy birthday
Happy birthday questions
How many strokes does it take to write happy birthday in cursive?
4 strokes: 2 continuous runs of letters, then dot the i, cross the t. Inside a word the pencil stays on the paper; dots and crosses are added once the word is finished.
Which letters in happy birthday are joined at the midline?
The b. This letter ends with a short bridge stroke at the midline, so the next letter starts from the top rather than from the baseline. That is what makes "happy birthday" look different from a word with only baseline joins.
Is happy birthday capitalized in cursive?
Only at the start of a sentence or in a title. In running text "happy birthday" is written in lowercase, all letters joined. The capitalized form Happy Birthday is shown above for sentence openers and headings.
What is the hardest letter in happy birthday?
The r. r is the letter most adults get wrong. The slide right is tiny: think of a small step, not a hump.