All about handwriting

I have no idea.
But I’ve only ever seen the 8 written that way by Dutch people. :smile:

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I agree with the Dutch 8.

Infact if I have problems reading an ID it were in most cases IDs from the Netherlands with an (or even more) 8.

I had it several times that 8 was written like the symbol for “infinity” or even like a fish.
The first cards were not only a problem for me but also for the support (it took ages finding the ID) but meanwhile I’m wondering why I couldn’t read it :sweat_smile:

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Two sets of numbers =)
The upper set has a little blurry, simpler forms, it’s written a little faster.
In the bottom, something more round, something more angular, but looks more neat.

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I have no problem reading even the sloppiest of cursives.

I tend to write in either cursive or all caps. When I do write in cursive, I try to make it as neat and easily legible so anyone can read it.

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Sometimes I’ve problems to read the message. But I can’t say why I’ve the problems. I try my best to read the card.

I write my cards with pen, because that makes me writing much better. If the pen doesn’t work on the card I’m using finelinder or other.

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The 9 may have a hook or not. It depends on the writer. I sometimes write it with the hook and sometimes not.

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Yeah, a couple of people have mentioned that. So far I’ve only seen it with the hook here, and have come to write it exclusively that way myself, even when sending to the U.S. It just somehow looks better to me than the “lopsided lollipop” circle-on-a-stick version I used to write. The disadvantage is that it looks more like an inverted “6” the way I write it now, but usually the context makes it clear which way is up.

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I’m a stick on a lollipop person, but I agree that it is taught with the hook. :smiley:

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I’m just not able to write a decent looking 9 with a hook. So I ended up using the “lollipop on a stick” version. :woman_shrugging:t3:

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In China, most people( at least of my age) don’t write “9” with a hook. Neither do we put a bar on “7” , and “1” looks like the letter l. But some postcrossers switch to the other version when writing card IDs, me included.

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In Japan, it is similar. And, as you mentioned, I also sometimes switch to other versions depending on the country I’m sending to; specially when addresses have a mix of numbers and letters like Canada, or if postal code/address has letter “i” and number “1” mixed as well.

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WendySun, the Chinese 5 and 9 are usually very hard to read and also number 2 can be hard (not in Your example). This is an opinion from Finland.

I’m OK with handwritten postcards but sometimes I receive letters with hard-readable writing. And I get really confused when I write back and point out a wrong name. So, sometimes I just write: “Hello! Thx for your pc, etc.” But I really don’t like it.

Hi, guys!
I usually receive postcards filled in print and I send my postcards in print.
Which do you prefer?
And do you also receive postcards filled in print?

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Check in here

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I learned print and cursive when I was about 8 but I prefer print. I don’t use cursive very often I can’t even remember some of the letters. Also some people just write cursive in a way that you can’t tell what they wrote so definitely print

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I print everything, regardless of destination or first language. I just figure it is easiest for anyone to read. If someone writes to me in cursive, I usually can read it.

I can write cursive but am out of practice so it is messy. I use cursive if I am writing notes to myself or writing my signature.

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It depends on your handwriting. If you can write clearly, it doesn’t matter how you do it, with cursive letters or print letters. But I don’t like to receive any card that I can’t read. So, if your handwriting (even with the print letters) is bad, please print the text by a printer.

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For my part, I write in capitals letter, for a lot of reasons. Because for some countries it’s easier, but above all because in “classic” cursive writing, I write very badly, and being left-handed my writing is bad :sweat_smile:
And also because I can write more on the postcard with capitals.

I prefer to receive handwritten postcards. But the print is also good, the most important for me is that the message is personalized.

But above all indeed the main thing is that it is readable. When you can’t decipher a single word, it’s boring.

I had to write in cursive during school time, so no problem to understand it at all. And I’m very good in decipher handwriting. :laughing:
But I know some people who don’t normally use latin alphabet may have some issues to understand when it’s written in cursive. I’ve sent a postcard to a boy in Russia and he told me he couldn’t undertand my message because I used cursive, so I had to “translate” it for him. And I have even heard of people in USA who never learned to write cursive and have difficulty to understand it.