How to Write Happy Valentine's Day in Cursive

By Maya Chen, lettering designer and type educator · Checked by Jordan Hale · October 2026 · How we review content

"Happy Valentine's Day" in Playwrite US Trad, a typeface modelled on traditional school cursive.

Happy Valentine's Day has three capitals, a long word in the middle and an apostrophe that interrupts the flow. Most mistakes happen at the V, which looks like a simple point but has an entry hook and a lift after it, and at the apostrophe, which is easy to make too big. Plan the line and the card will look balanced.

Copy and paste "Happy Valentine's Day" in cursive

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Letter by letter

Each distinct letter in "Happy Valentine's Day" has its own stroke-by-stroke page.

The joins in Happy Valentine's Day

Ha: The capital H ends with a crossbar heading right, which carries into the a. Keep the a closed and small so the capital stays the dominant letter.
Va: The capital V starts with a hook, drops to a point on the baseline and rises to a finishing stroke. V is a lifting capital, so lift there and start the a close beside it with a short gap. Keep the a small and closed so the V stays dominant.
nt: The n hump finishes at the baseline and rises into the t stem. Keep the t short and cross it after the word is done, in line with the crossbar of any other t.
ti: The t exits at the baseline and climbs into the i. Dot the i directly above its stem after the full word is written, with a small round dot.
ne: The n exits at the baseline and rises into the e, which is the last letter before the apostrophe. Finish the e with a small exit and lift the pen.
Da: The capital D has a looped base and a long stroke up and round, and it lifts. Leave a small gap, then start the a close beside it, keeping the a small and closed.

Tricky spots

The apostrophe: After the final e, lift the pen and add a small straight tick that leans at the same slant as the letters, about as tall as the e. Then start the s with a short gap. Making the tick too long turns it into a stray l.
The capital V: A cursive V has an entry hook, a point at the baseline and a rising stroke, and the pen lifts after it. Keep the point sharp and the hook small. A round V looks like a U and the word loses its V.
Dotting and crossing: There is one t and one i to finish, so wait until the entire phrase is written, then dot and cross them in one pass. Doing it as you go interrupts the line and shifts the slant.

Capitals

Capitalise all the main words: Happy Valentine's Day. That means H, V and D, three different cursive capitals: the H runs into the a, while V and D both lift. The s after the apostrophe stays lowercase. If you prefer a softer look on a note, lowercase happy valentine's day works well, but the V and the D give the card a classic look.

Variations and styles

On a card, write the V as an oversized swash capital and tuck the rest of the word beside it. For a handmade gift tag, write Valentine's on one line and Day below. A pointed pen gives the V and D heavy downstrokes. Adding a heart for the i dot is a popular touch, but a plain round dot is more legible at small sizes.

Printable practice sheet

Trace the grey letters, then write your own on the empty lines. Prints on one page (Letter or A4).

Cursive practice: Happy Valentine's Day

Name: ____________________ coolletteringgenerator.com

Copy-paste versions of Happy Valentine's Day

Valentine's carries two ℯ (U+212F) in plain script, one after the l and one at the end before the apostrophe, so ℋ𝒶𝓅𝓅𝓎 𝒱𝒶𝓁ℯ𝓃𝓉𝒾𝓃ℯ'𝓈 𝒟𝒶𝓎 has three borrowed glyphs once ℋ (U+210B) is counted. The apostrophe is a plain ASCII mark and keeps its straight shape. Bold script 𝓗𝓪𝓹𝓹𝔂 𝓥𝓪𝓵𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓮'𝓼 𝓓𝓪𝔂 replaces none of them.

Happy Valentine's Day in cursive: questions

How do you write the apostrophe in Valentine's in cursive?

Finish the e at the end of Valentine, lift the pen, and add a short straight tick leaning at the same angle as your letters. Leave a small gap, then write the s. The apostrophe should be about the height of a lowercase letter, not taller.

How do you write the capital V in cursive?

Start with a small hook at the top left, drop to a sharp point on the baseline and rise to a finishing stroke at the top. Lift the pen there and start the a beside it, because V does not connect. Keep the point sharp so it does not look like a U.

Do I capitalise Day in Happy Valentine's Day?

Yes, it is part of the holiday name, so use a capital D. The capital D has a looped base and a long return stroke, so give it extra room, and remember it lifts: leave a small gap before the a rather than joining. A lowercase d would look like a typo on a card front.

Can I copy happy valentine's day in cursive text?

Yes. Copy the script or bold script versions above. The apostrophe stays a normal straight mark, so it will not match the script weight beside it, and screen readers may spell out the styled letters. Add an ordinary-text version below the lettering if the message is going to people using assistive technology.