How to Write love in Cursive

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

"love" in Playwrite US Trad, a typeface modelled on traditional school cursive.

Four letters, and three of them hang on a bridge. Cursive love is a small lesson in how school cursive works: the l is a plain loop, but the o and the v both leave at the midline instead of the baseline, so the e at the end has to start high. Get that one handoff right and the word flows in a single stroke.

Copy and paste "love" in cursive

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Letter by letter

Each distinct letter in "love" has its own stroke-by-stroke page.

The joins in love

lo: The l comes down to the baseline and its undercurve exit climbs to the midline, then curves back left to start the o. Make that climb short and round; a long diagonal exit makes the o lean forward and open at the top.
ov: The classic trouble spot in this word. The o closes at the midline and its bridge runs straight into the v, so the v begins high and never touches the baseline in between. Let the bridge dip a hair, then drive the v down to the baseline.
ve: The v also leaves with a bridge, so the e starts from the midline, not the baseline. Dip the bridge slightly and loop the e from it. If you swing the e up from the baseline instead, you get a gap and the word breaks into lov and e.

Tricky spots

Two bridges in a row: The o and the v both exit at the midline. Keep the two bridges the same height and short, and love stays level instead of sagging after the v.
The v point: The v is a point on the baseline, not a bowl. A rounded v with a flat bottom reads like a u, and love turns into a word that looks like loue.
Loop height of l against the e: The l goes to the top line and the final e stays at the midline. If the loops match, the l and e look like twins and the word is hard to scan.

Capitals

Capitalise only at the start of a sentence or when love is a name or the first word of a card. The capital L opens with a small loop near the top, drops through a curved spine and ends in a flat baseline loop. In Zaner-Bloser cursive it joins the o through its undercurve. Lowercase love is the more common choice for a tattoo or sign because it keeps one even rhythm.

Variations and styles

On a card, slant love a little more than usual and let the l loop stretch tall for a romantic feel. In a signature-style version, drop the pen only once, from the l to the final e, and finish with a long exit stroke instead of closing the e. Calligraphy pens add thick downstrokes on the l and v and thin upstrokes everywhere else, so the v gets one heavy stroke and the o stays hairline.

As a tattoo

Love is short enough to be written large, which helps. Keep letter height around 2 cm or more if you want fine lines to stay open for years, since the e and the o are small enclosed shapes that fill in first. Leave a visible gap between the two bridge strokes, and ask for the v to keep its point rather than a rounded bottom.

Printable practice sheet

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

Cursive practice: love

Name: ____________________ coolletteringgenerator.com

Copy-paste versions of love

Lowercase script ℯ and ℴ are the only replacements in 𝓁ℴ𝓋ℯ, so two of the four letters are borrowed, in positions two and four. Written with a capital, ℒℴ𝓋ℯ gains a third in ℒ (U+2112). Bold script 𝓵𝓸𝓿𝓮 keeps every letter in one block, which makes it the better choice when you copy the word into a design mock-up.

love in cursive: questions

How do you write love in cursive?

Write a tall l loop, join into a small closed o, then run the o bridge across the midline into a pointed v, and let the v bridge feed a looped e. The only strokes that touch the baseline are the l and the bottom of the o and v. Keep every letter slanted at the same angle and finish the e with a short upturn.

Why does the v in cursive love look so different from print?

A cursive v has no flat bottom. It enters with an overcurve, comes to a sharp point on the baseline and leaves with a small bridge at the midline. Because it is a point, it is shorter and narrower than printed V, and the bridge is what hands the pen to the e that follows.

Is love written with a capital L in cursive?

Only when grammar asks for it. The capital L has a top loop and a baseline loop and is harder to write neatly than the lowercase, so many people choose lowercase for tattoos, wall art and cards. If you do use it, finish the capital with a curve under the baseline so it joins the o.

What is the best cursive font for a love tattoo?

Choose one with an open e and a clear point on the v, because those are the letters that fill in as ink ages. Traditional school cursive such as Palmer or Zaner-Bloser styles are safe, but have the artist draw it freehand or stencil it at least 2 cm tall and check it before inking.