Russian Cursive И и (I): How to Write It
By Daily Cyrillic · Updated
Cursive и is two pointed downstrokes joined at the bottom, exactly like a handwritten Latin u. It is the base unit of the hump letters ш, щ, ц and й. A clear "ee" as in "see", and it softens the consonant before it.
Reading time: about 2 min.
- Sound
- /i/, written i
- Letter name
- и
- Often confused with
- ш, п, Latin u
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Sound
A clear "ee" as in "see", and it softens the consonant before it.
How to write cursive и, step by step
- Start at the baseline and go up to the x-height.
- Come down in a slanted stroke and round off at the baseline.
- Go up again to the x-height, parallel to the first stroke.
- Come straight down a second time and exit with a small hook to the right.
The capital И
Capital И looks like a large handwritten U with a small hook at the top left: a stroke down, a curve up and a second straight stroke down.
How it connects to other letters
и joins from the baseline on both sides, which is why several и in a row melt into a wave. Keep the downstrokes evenly spaced.
Letters it is confused with
и / ш: ш has three downstrokes, и has two. In a word like лишишь, count the strokes to separate them.
и / п: п is rounded at the top like a Latin n; и is rounded at the bottom like a Latin u.
и / Latin u: The shape is a Latin u, but the sound is ee. Read the u-shape in a Russian word as и.
Example words in cursive
Read the cursive word first, then check the print form and meaning.
| Cursive | Transliteration | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|---|
| имя | имя | ímya | name |
| мир | мир | mir | world, peace |
| книга | книга | kníga | book |
| синий | синий | síniy | blue |
Common mistakes
- Writing the printed И with a diagonal bar, which looks like a backward N and does not connect.
- Uneven spacing of the downstrokes, so и next to ш becomes one long unreadable wave.
Turn this guide into words you can use
Build a free Russian set for this topic, with examples and ElevenLabs AI audio.