How to Write Michael in Cursive

Your name in school cursive with the capital, the joins and the tricky spots explained, plus a printable practice sheet.

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

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

Michael is a long name with a lot of small connecting strokes, and four of them are at the midline: i, c, a, e. The middle ch is the part that gives the name its character, because the c has to lead straight into the tall h loop. A steady rhythm is more important than speed here.

Copy and paste "Michael" in cursive

Try a different name in the cursive name generator →

Letter by letter

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

The joins in Michael

Mi: The M exit rises into the i. Make a short stem and exit at the baseline. Dot it at the end.
ic: The i leaves at the baseline into the c, which is open on the right. Keep it small.
ch: The c exits at the baseline and rises into the h, which has a tall loop and one arch. Keep the loop narrow.
ha: The h finishes at the baseline and rises into the a. Close the oval and retrace.
ae: The a exits into the e, which has a small loop. Close it and exit into the l.
el: The e exit rises into the l, which is a tall narrow loop. Finish with a small tail.

Tricky spots

c into h: The c should stay open and lead cleanly to the h loop. A closed c looks like an o.
ae pair: Both are small and similar. Make the a closed and the e with a clear loop.
Keeping size even: With so many small letters, the middle can shrink or grow. Check the midline.

The capital M

Capital M uses slanted strokes with pointed tops and connects, so the final stroke leaves along the baseline into the i. Keep the humps equal, and do not make the M too wide, since there are many letters to fit after it.

Michael as a signature

The M can be bold and wide, with the rest written as a smooth wave. Keep the h loop and the final l tall so the name has a clear top line. The l can end with a flourish.

Short forms of Michael

Mike and Mikey are the usual short forms, and Mick is also used. Mike has only four letters and no h, so the cursive is simpler: M, i, k, e. The k needs a buckle on the right.

As a tattoo

Because Michael is long, use a size that keeps the small ovals open. Ask for a clear dot on the i and enough space between the c and the h. Mike is a shorter option.

Printable practice sheet

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

Cursive practice: Michael

Name: ____________________ coolletteringgenerator.com

Copy-paste versions of Michael

Script ℳ𝒾𝒸𝒽𝒶ℯ𝓁 and bold script 𝓜𝓲𝓬𝓱𝓪𝓮𝓵 are generated by code from the Unicode mathematical script blocks, so you can paste either one anywhere that accepts Unicode text. Michael has two substitutes in plain script: ℳ (U+2133) at the start and ℯ (U+212F) in the sixth position. The other five letters come from the main block. It is a seven-character name, so check platform limits that count code points. Bold script keeps every character in a single block and skips both swaps.

Michael in cursive: questions

How do you write Michael in cursive?

Write a capital M, then i, c, h, a, e and l. Every letter connects. The h loops up, the c stays open, and the l finishes the name with a tall loop. Dot the i at the end. The long name is easier if you think of it as Mich plus ael, with a small rest between the two halves in your head.

How do you connect c and h in cursive?

Finish the c with a short exit along the baseline and rise straight into the tall h loop. Keep the c open on the right so it does not close into an o. The c ends at the baseline and the h begins with an upstroke to the top line, so the join is natural as long as the c is open.

Does the capital M connect to the i?

Yes. In traditional cursive, M ends with a stroke along the baseline that leads into the next letter. Mike uses the same M and i, so any practice carries over. Because the M leads into the i without a lift, the first two letters can be written as one stroke. Practise the pair before the full name.