Letra cursiva: from block capitals to joined Brazilian handwriting
A tool for the moment a Brazilian child moves from letra bastão — the block capitals of the first school year — to letra cursiva, the joined handwriting of alfabetização. That switch is the actual difficulty: the same word looks like two different words, and worksheets built for the English alphabet break on ã, ç, õ, á and ê. Type any word, see both forms side by side, watch it written stroke by stroke, and print a caligrafia sheet with the standard three-rule guide.
How to use
Enter any word — for example “borboleta” or a child’s name.
The word appears at once in connected cursive on the ruled guide.
Press “Write it” to watch the stroke order, line by line.
Generate the tracing worksheet or download a PNG image.
The step Brazilian schools take after letra bastão
borboleta
In “Connected cursive” mode the word is built from Brazilian school letterforms with proper joining strokes — as in a caligrafia notebook. After “b”, “o”, “v”, “w” the join leaves from the top; after some capitals the pen lifts — that is a rule of the script, not an error. Practice the joins on the printable sheet (Print worksheet).
Press ▶ to see how a letter is written, or 🔊 to hear its Portuguese name.
Tricky cursive letters
In cursive some letters look nothing like their print form. Watch for these:
Practice reading
Read the cursive word, then click to check yourself in print letters.
From letra bastão to letra cursiva
Brazilian schools start with block capitals — letra bastão — and only later move to joined cursive. The difficulty is not the letters but the switch: the same word looks like two different ones. The words below carry ã, ç, õ, á and ê — the marks on which worksheets built for the English alphabet break.
Print form on the left, the same word in joined cursive on the right. Tap the word on the right to watch it written stroke by stroke.