Russian Cursive У у (U): How to Write It
By Daily Cyrillic · Updated
Cursive у looks like a handwritten Latin y: a small arch on the left and a long descender on the right that loops back up. It is a vowel, not a consonant. A rounded oo as in "moon", but shorter and with lips pushed forward.
Reading time: about 1 min.
- Sound
- /u/, written u
- Letter name
- у
- Often confused with
- Latin y, д
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Sound
A rounded oo as in "moon", but shorter and with lips pushed forward.
How to write cursive у, step by step
- Start at the midline with a short downstroke that curves right at the baseline.
- Go up to the midline again on the right.
- Pull a long straight stroke down below the baseline.
- Loop to the left at the bottom and swing back up to cross the stem at the baseline.
The capital У
Capital У is the same form enlarged, usually started with a small curl at the top left of the first stroke.
How it connects to other letters
The descender loop ends at the baseline and leads straight into the next letter, so у never needs a pen lift.
Letters it is confused with
у / Latin y: Same shape as y, but it is the vowel u: утка is "utka".
у / д: Cursive д also has a looped descender, but it starts with a closed round bowl like a; у starts with an open arch.
Example words in cursive
Read the cursive word first, then check the print form and meaning.
| Cursive | Transliteration | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|---|
| утка | утка | útka | duck |
| утюг | утюг | utyúg | iron (for clothes) |
| улица | улица | úlitsa | street |
| ухо | ухо | úkho | ear |
Common mistakes
- Reading it as y or as an English "you" sound.
- Closing the left arch, which turns у into a cursive д.
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