Letter Y Tracing Worksheets

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NameDateYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYy y y yy y y yy y y yy y y yy y y yy y y yMade at homeroomtools.com
NameDateyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyakyakyakyakyakyakyakyakyakMade at homeroomtools.com
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4 words on 2 pages, Letter portrait.

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All 85 rows and words

Rows of the letter 3

  • Y Capital Y. The starting dot sits at the top of the left arm, a little under the top line. At Large 6 fit across a row on Letter and 5 on A4, so 3 rows give 18 or 15 to trace.
  • y y y y Lowercase y in groups of 4. At Large 2 groups fit across a row, so 3 rows give 24 to trace. The starting dot sits at the top left, just under the dashed line, and the tail hangs about 6 mm under the baseline.
  • Yy Capital and lowercase side by side, 4 pairs to a row. The two are different shapes: capital Y is a small v on a stick that stands on the baseline, and lowercase y is a v whose second slant runs on under the line.
Show all 85 rows and words (82 more)

y at the start: the consonant sound in yes 32

  • yacht A boat made for pleasure trips or racing. The ch is silent, so it rhymes with hot. 5 letters. Tall: h, t. Tails: y.
  • yak Long-haired cattle of the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau. Short a. It fits 3 times across a row. 3 letters. Tall: k. Tails: y.
  • yam The starchy tuber of a vine, grown for food in warm places. Short a. 3 letters. Tails: y.
  • yap A sharp little bark. Short a. 3 letters. Tails: y, p.
  • yard A length of 3 feet, and also the ground around a house. The ar says ar. 4 letters. Tall: d. Tails: y.
  • yardstick A ruler one yard long, which is 3 feet or 36 inches. Yard and stick in one word. 9 letters. Tall: d, t, k. Tails: y.
  • yarn A long spun thread for knitting and weaving. The ar says ar, as in car. 4 letters. Tails: y.
  • yawn The aw says aw, as in saw. 4 letters. Tails: y.
  • year The time the Earth takes to go around the Sun. The ear says ear. 4 letters. Tails: y.
  • yeast A tiny fungus. Bakers have used it for thousands of years to make bread rise. The ea says long e. 5 letters. Tall: t. Tails: y.
  • yell Short e, and double l at the end. 4 letters. Tall: l, l. Tails: y.
  • yellow The color between green and orange in a rainbow. Double l, and the ow says long o. 6 letters. Tall: l, l. Tails: y.
  • yelp A short, sharp cry. Short e, then the lp blend. 4 letters. Tall: l. Tails: y, p.
  • yes The y at the start is a consonant. Short e. It fits 3 times across a row, so 3 rows give 9 to trace. 3 letters. Tails: y.
  • yesterday It starts with yes and ends with day, and it has the letter y 2 times. 9 letters. Tall: t, d. Tails: y, y.
  • yet Short e. Swap the last letter for s and it says yes. 3 letters. Tall: t. Tails: y.
  • yeti A big, hairy creature of legend, said to live in the Himalayas. The i at the end says long e. 4 letters. Tall: t. Tails: y.
  • yield To give way. A yield sign tells drivers to let the other traffic go first. The ie says long e. 5 letters. Tall: l, d. Tails: y.
  • yip A short, high bark. Short i. 3 letters. Tails: y, p.
  • yo-yo A toy of two disks with a string looped around the axle, known since 440 BC. It has the letter y 2 times. 4 letters. Tails: y, y.
  • yodel To sing with quick jumps between a low voice and a high one. The o says its name. 5 letters. Tall: d, l. Tails: y.
  • yoga The o says its name and the a is a quick uh. 4 letters. Tails: y, g.
  • yogurt A tart food made from milk with the help of bacteria. In American English the o says its name. 6 letters. Tall: t. Tails: y, g.
  • yolk The yellow center of an egg. Most speakers leave the l silent, so it rhymes with joke. 4 letters. Tall: l, k. Tails: y.
  • you It sounds just like the name of the letter u, but it starts with y. 3 letters. Tails: y.
  • young The ou says short u, and the ng is one sound. 5 letters. Tails: y, g.
  • your Belonging to you: your turn, your pencil. 4 letters. Tails: y.
  • youth The time of being young. The ou says oo, and the th is one sound. 5 letters. Tall: t, h. Tails: y.
  • yowl A long, loud cry. The ow says ow, as in cow. 4 letters. Tall: l. Tails: y.
  • yucca A plant with long, pointed leaves shaped like swords. Double c says k. 5 letters. Tails: y.
  • yum Short u. Add my and it turns into yummy. 3 letters. Tails: y.
  • yummy Two jobs for y in one word: a consonant at the start, long e at the end. It has the letter y 2 times. 5 letters. Tails: y, y.

y at the end of a short word says long i, as in my 10

  • by The y says long i. It sounds the same as buy and bye. 2 letters. Tall: b. Tails: y.
  • cry The y says long i. Change the y to i and add es for cries. 3 letters. Tails: y.
  • dry The y says long i. It rhymes with cry, fry and try, all in this list. 3 letters. Tall: d. Tails: y.
  • fly The y says long i after the fl blend. A fly is also an insect with a single pair of wings. 3 letters. Tall: f, l. Tails: y.
  • fry The y says long i after the fr blend. 3 letters. Tall: f. Tails: y.
  • my In a short word with no other vowel, the y at the end says long i. It fits 3 times across a row. 2 letters. Tails: y.
  • shy The y says long i. The sh needs two letters for one sound. 3 letters. Tall: h. Tails: y.
  • sky The y says long i. Sk is a blend, so say both sounds. 3 letters. Tall: k. Tails: y.
  • try The y says long i after the tr blend. 3 letters. Tall: t. Tails: y.
  • why The y says long i. Wh starts a run of question words: who, what, when, where, why. 3 letters. Tall: h. Tails: y.

y at the end of a longer word says long e, as in baby 11

  • baby At the end of a word of two beats, the y says long e. Change the y to i and add es for babies. 4 letters. Tall: b, b. Tails: y.
  • bunny A child's word for a rabbit. Double n, and the y says long e. 5 letters. Tall: b. Tails: y.
  • candy Short a, and the y says long e. 5 letters. Tall: d. Tails: y.
  • city The c says s and the y says long e. More than one: cities. 4 letters. Tall: t. Tails: y.
  • daisy The ai says long a, the s says z and the y says long e. 5 letters. Tall: d. Tails: y.
  • funny Fun, a second n, then y. The y says long e. 5 letters. Tall: f. Tails: y.
  • happy The y says long e. Double p in the middle, said once. 5 letters. Tall: h. Tails: p, p, y.
  • penny A one-cent coin of the United States. Double n, and the y says long e. 5 letters. Tails: p, y.
  • pony A small kind of horse. The o says its name and the y says long e. 4 letters. Tails: p, y.
  • puppy A young dog. Short u, and the y says long e. 5 letters. Tails: p, p, p, y.
  • sunny Sun, a second n, then y. The y says long e. 5 letters. Tails: y.

y after a vowel: ay, oy and ey 8

  • boy The oy says oi. 3 letters. Tall: b. Tails: y.
  • day After a the y joins a team: ay says long a. 3 letters. Tall: d. Tails: y.
  • key The ey says long e. 3 letters. Tall: k. Tails: y.
  • monkey The o says short u and the ey says long e. 6 letters. Tall: k. Tails: y.
  • play The ay says long a after the pl blend. 4 letters. Tall: l. Tails: p, y.
  • they Here the ey says long a, so they rhymes with day, not with key. 4 letters. Tall: t, h. Tails: y.
  • toy The oy says oi. It rhymes with boy and joy. 3 letters. Tall: t. Tails: y.
  • turkey A large bird of the Americas. The ur says er and the ey says long e. 6 letters. Tall: t, k. Tails: y.

y in the middle of a word, as in gym and type 7

  • gym A y in the middle of a word: here it says short i. The g says j. 3 letters. Tails: g, y.
  • hyena The y says long i and the e says its name: hi, EE, na. 5 letters. Tall: h. Tails: y.
  • lynx A wild cat with four living kinds, the bobcat among them. The y says short i and the x says ks. 4 letters. Tall: l. Tails: y.
  • myth A very old story. The y says short i, and the th is one sound. 4 letters. Tall: t, h. Tails: y.
  • pyramid The y says short i, so the word starts like pit, not like pie. 7 letters. Tall: d. Tails: p, y.
  • python A large snake that has no venom. The y says long i. 6 letters. Tall: t, h. Tails: p, y.
  • type The y says long i, and the e at the end is silent. 4 letters. Tall: t. Tails: y, p.

Names and places with a capital Y 14

  • Yangtze China's longest river and the third longest in the world. Capital Y and 6 lowercase letters. Tall: t. Tails: g.
  • Yara A first name of 4 letters. It fits 2 times across a row. Capital Y and 3 lowercase letters, all the same height.
  • Yasmin A first name of 6 letters. Capital Y and 5 lowercase letters, all the same height.
  • Yellowknife Capital of Canada's Northwest Territories, and the only city there. Capital Y and 10 lowercase letters. Tall: l, l, k, f.
  • Yellowstone The earliest of the United States' national parks. Most of it lies in Wyoming. Capital Y and 10 lowercase letters. Tall: l, l, t.
  • Yemen A country in West Asia, in the south of Arabia. Capital Y and 4 lowercase letters, all the same height.
  • Yokohama Japan's second largest city by population. Capital Y and 7 lowercase letters. Tall: k, h.
  • Yolanda A first name of 7 letters. It fits once across a row. Capital Y and 6 lowercase letters. Tall: l, d.
  • York A cathedral city in the north of England with Roman origins. Capital Y and 3 lowercase letters. Tall: k.
  • Yosemite A national park in California. The name has four beats: yo, SEM, i, tee. Capital Y and 7 lowercase letters. Tall: t.
  • Yuki A first name of 4 letters. It fits 2 times across a row. Capital Y and 3 lowercase letters. Tall: k.
  • Yukon The westernmost territory of Canada, next to Alaska. Capital Y and 4 lowercase letters. Tall: k.
  • Yusuf A first name. It has the letter u twice. Capital Y and 4 lowercase letters. Tall: f.
  • Yvonne A first name in which the Y is a vowel: it does not begin with the y sound of yes. Capital Y and 5 lowercase letters, all the same height.

How this list was compiled: The words, names and notes were chosen and written for this page; no list was copied. Sounds follow General American and were checked in each word's entry on en.wiktionary.org, facts about places, animals and the letter on en.wikipedia.org (checked 2026-09-19). Licence: own work

All 28 practice lines

Letter rows and word rows 7

  • baby bunny puppy pony Four animals and little ones where the y at the end says long e.
  • day play boy toy key The y in a team with a vowel: ay, ay, oy, oy, ey.
  • g j p q y The five letters with tails. At Large each one hangs about 6 mm under the baseline.
  • my by fly sky cry Five short words where the y at the end says long i.
Show all 28 practice lines (24 more)

Letter rows and word rows, continued

  • v y v y v y In this letter style a y is a v with a tail. Both start at the top left dot, just under the dashed line.
  • Y y Y y Y y Y y Capital and lowercase in turn. Capital Y stands on the baseline; lowercase y starts lower and runs under it.
  • yes yet yak yam yum Five 3-letter words that start with the consonant y.

Sentences with y at the start of words 5

  • A yak has long hair. True: yaks are long-haired cattle of the Himalayan region.
  • My yo-yo is yellow. The letter y appears 4 times, and the first one says long i.
  • Yes, you can yell in the yard. Four words that start with the consonant y. The letter y appears 4 times.
  • Yesterday I ate yummy yogurt. The letter y appears 5 times: twice in yesterday, twice in yummy and once in yogurt.
  • The yolk of an egg is yellow. Yolk and yellow are relatives: yolk comes from the Old English word for yellow.

Sentences where y is a vowel 5

  • A happy puppy is funny. The y says long e three times, each at the end of a word of two beats.
  • The baby has a bunny. The y says long e twice.
  • The boy can play all day. Three vowel teams with y: oy, ay and ay.
  • I spy a fly in the sky. Long i four times: once as the word I and three times as a y.
  • Try to fly my kite in the sky. The y says long i four times. Kite gets the same sound from i and a silent e.

Two jobs for y in one sentence 2

  • The y in yes is not the y in my. True, and worth reading aloud: a consonant in yes, long i in my. The letter y appears 4 times.
  • Yesterday was a sunny day. Three jobs in one line: the consonant in yes, long e in sunny, and the ay team, twice.

True sentences with a capital Y 5

  • The Yangtze is China's longest river. True. It is also the world's third longest river.
  • Yellowstone became the first national park. True of the United States, and it is widely held to be the first in the world.
  • Yemen is a West Asian country. True. One capital Y and one lowercase y in the line.
  • Yosemite is a park in California. True: it is a United States national park.
  • Yukon is next to Alaska. True: the Canadian territory has Alaska on its western side.

True sentences about the letter 2

  • The Romans called Y the Greek I. True: in Latin the letter was named I graeca, because it came from the Greek alphabet.
  • Y is the 25th letter of the alphabet. True. Only z comes after it.

Count the letter y 2

  • Yara says yes to a yellow yo-yo. The letter y appears 6 times in this line, counting the capital. Circle them before tracing.
  • Yummy has the letter y two times. One capital at the start and one lowercase at the end, with two jobs.

How this list was compiled: Every practice line was written for this page; none was copied from a workbook or another site. Sounds follow General American and were checked in each word's entry on en.wiktionary.org, facts on en.wikipedia.org (checked 2026-09-19). Licence: own work

How it works

These letter Y tracing worksheets begin with dotted rows of capital Y and lowercase y, then yes and yak. Below are 46 Y words and 36 more, such as my, baby and day, where y works as a vowel.

Read the full guide

Y and y first, then yes and yak

At Large, capital Y fits 6 to a row on Letter and 5 on A4. Lowercase y prints as 2 groups of 4, 24 in all. Its tail hangs about 6 mm under the baseline. Page 2 repeats yes and yak 9 times each. Typed words replace all four sample rows. To keep the letter rows, put Y on line 1 of the Words box and y y y y on line 2.

One letter, two jobs

At the start of a word y is a consonant: yes, yarn, yellow. Elsewhere it is usually a vowel: long i in my, long e in baby, short i in gym. After a, o or e it joins a team: day, boy, key. Teach the consonant first.

  • From the dot on y: short slant to the line, then a long slant from top right into the tail.
  • In the Words box, type v y v y on one line: same starting dot, only the tail differs.
  • For the board: Y came from the Greek letter upsilon, and the Romans named it I graeca, Greek I.

Questions and answers

Why does y say i in my but e in baby?

Stress decides. At the end of a strong beat (my, fly, try), y says long i. At the end of a weak beat (baby, happy, sunny), it says long e. Reply and July end in long i: their second beat is strong.

How do I stop y from floating above the line?

The two slants of y meet at the baseline and only the tail goes under it. Color the baseline first, then trace so the slants meet on the color. Four more letters have tails, g, j, p and q: see the list of letters.

Can I print a Y name such as Yara or Yusuf?

Yes. Type it in the Words box and it replaces the sample rows. At Large, Yara and Yusuf fit twice across a row. Yolanda and Yvonne need a row each. A share link holds whatever was typed, so keep student names out of links.

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