As someone who is a current young adult, I know that we got three weeks of instruction in third grade and I canāt even develop a signature for myself. I canāt speak on the youth of other countries but I personally have a hard time reading it unless it is basically just wavy print. I would say write with it if you feel like it but keep in mind the age on the profile if they are from North America at least.
That is because there is no one cursive taught in Germany, but many different onesā¦ I know that my mother didnāt want me to visit one of the elementary schools close by because they taught a cursive (Vereinfachte Ausgangsschrift) that she disliked a lot! So I was sent to another school (that was nearly the same distance, but taught Lateinische Ausgangsschrift).
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As I know it was used to until a few years ago in Turkey but then system changed.
I think almost everyone can read.
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I can read mostly any cursive, but I donāt use it because, well maybe it isnāt that readable to all.
I have learnt this one (and it is still learned in school but gradually starting to be something of the past)
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Itās the same in Poland. I also always write in cursive, unless someone mentions they canāt read it. I had no idea that something like āprinting scriptā even existed, at first I thought writing in block/capital letters was meant by that.
There is something called āpismo techniczneā here (ātechnical scriptā), this might be similar to printing but is normally not taught at all in school.
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We have different versions depending on your age and the script you were taught at school but nobody learns to write āWā with the two lines crossing over each other. And many Germans strike through their Zs but it is not required either. I fear you have been lied to. 
From many similar misspellings of my name, I concluded that many Americans have trouble with my cursive āsā vs. ārā and I thought thatās probably because I learned a different cursive script than they do overseas. But looking at the alphabets you all posted in this topic, the versions of āsā donāt look that different! Maybe my recipients were simply unfamiliar with any kind of cursive writing because they never learned it. 
For me, the local differences in our scripts are not so much the problem. Itās everyoneās individual script. Some people write very clearly while others write either fancily with lots of unnecessary (but beautiful!) added swirls and circles as distracting decorations or others simply have messy handwriting. And especially bad handwriting is still easier to read if it is written in print letters instead of cursive. And especially especially if the reader is used to a completely different writing system, e.g. Chinese, and/or just started learning English, I imagine that cursive can be very difficult to read.
Most of the time, I refrain from making it even more complicated by writing in cursive even though I really want to because it looks more beautifulā¦ Since I learned that cursive is not taught in the US anymore, I even think twice about writing in cursive to that country, too, although they should be familiar with the English language and I have rather clear handwriting imo but my experience says, no, better write in printā¦
The SĆ¼tterlin script some people already mentioned hasnāt been taught since it was replaced in WWII. Because Hitler apparently still had enough time to replace our writing system. Because Gothic font was allegedly created by Jews and also German propaganda had to be legible in foreign countries, too, it was replaced by ānormalā Antiqua font. And subsequently, the cursive script that was taught at school was replaced as well. Well, that was very long ago. And nowadays, most Germans canāt read the script anymore so there is not a high probability of any of you receiving a postcard written in it. Interestingly, SĆ¼tterlin (and other Kurrentschriften) looks a lot like cursive Cyrillic script!
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My cursive style is closer to the early 1900 style you posted rather than the modern style. Itās also why I mostly print on my postcards. Almost no one seems to be able to read my cursive accurately.
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I learned cursive writing in home school not sure if itās normal to learn at public school though.
I do exactly this, too! Or I search for a list of common names in that country and see if I can match one to my Postcrosser. 
Sometimes, it even works!
This has worked for me, too! (Not always, but it helps!)
@syaffolee, apparently you and I time-traveled together when we learned cursive, because thatās the version I learned, too, in the late (19)90s.
My natural handwriting is a hybrid of cursive and print, and itās very italic. (I hold my paper at a steep angle when I write, and it shows.) In Postcrossing, though, I do make an effort to dial back the cursivā¦ity? (Oh, wowāI just looked it up, and ācursivityā is a word) so that my writing is more legible. I especially try to make my name clear in hope that the recipient wonāt have to endure the stress of having to guess it. (It stresses me out, at least.)
Although I can mostly decipher messages in cursive without a problem, itās drastically easier when theyāre printed.
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It might be the way she learned. I donāt know which region of Germany sheās from and she also lived in Russia for a long time, but I donāt know if this changes the crossed w. It may just be her own handwriting or one she likes? Go figure. I find it amusing though, now I got used to writing this way too - I wonder if people think Iām advertising for a certain car brand 
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Hi Poscrossers,
Iām wondering how you all decide how youāre going to write your messages. I grew up in the US being taught cursive English. However as I got older I abandoned this style for more of a āblock printingā style. Lately Iāve been enamored with using fountain pens and it reminded me how Iāve wanted to improve my handwriting. But what should I go with? Should I improve my old cursive or try and make my printing more legible and attractive? What do others here think?
Also Iām wondering about people who donāt speak English as a first language. Do they generally have issues with English cursive? Or is that taught in schools along with English instruction?
I donāt mind. I write in my normal handwriting (a mixture of cursive and block letters) except when someone mentions to kindly only use block letters. I donāt have problems reading different styles of cursive, only when itās a real bad handwriting in general.
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I ususally go for block letters unless I know the recipient can read cursive. I myself have no problems reading anything though (parmacist 
)
In general I think if you want to improve your handwriting you should practice your ānormalā style to make it more legible.
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Honestly cursive in any language is really hard for me to read, even if itās my motherās handwriting, which Iāve spent my whole life reading. Then again, thatās also because Iāve had really bad eyes since I was about eight years old 
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Iām good at reading bad handwriting, cursive, etc. It doesnāt matter to me. Perhaps because my own handwriting is a mess as well sometimes 
I do my best to write a bit bigger and more clearly when a profile makes it clear the user has little English, in the hopes of helping them read the postcard more easily.
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English cursive is different than other cursives. It is also not taught in schools - in my native Germany we just wrote in our own cursive or mix of cursive and block letters (proper English instruction didnāt start until 5th grade while handwriting instruction stops with grade 4). I think countries with another alphabet (Russia, far Asia ā¦) exclusively learn print.
I can read English cursive alright, I think it is fairly close to French cursive. But Germany has simplified itās cursive multiple times during the 20th century and most adult Germans I know develop their own handwriting between cursive and print. On postcards, I try to be closer to print, but tend to be a little negligent when writing to Germans.
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I write everything in cursive because thatās how I was taught to write. Writing in print script is something I have to concentrate on so I use it only for the address and when someone mentions they canāt read cursive. I personally have no problem reading cursive. It is a bit different in every country and it is very different from person to person. I wonder what English cursive looks like?
By the way, when I was in primary school and my father wrote something to the teacher, I always had to read it for her because his hadwriting is exceptionally illegible
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I print. I have been told it is easier to read. as an Esl teacher my students have a hard time reading cursive too
I learned cursive handwriting in school, and we were forced to use cursive handwriting during primary school. āWrite as you want when youāre finished at this school. But while youāre a pupil here, you have to use cursive writing!ā I generally donāt have a problem undestand cursive writing, although I have to read a word twice to figure it out on rare occations. One time I had a really hard time understanding the message written in cursive on a postcard. Tried reading it and left it for a few hours. When I tried again, I managed to figure it out.
I still write cursive most of the time. But if I send a postcard for the fully written tag for instance, I usually use block print to make sure my tiny writing is legible. And if I send postcards to people in China and Japan for instance, I use block print because their script is different from mine. Some Chinese members have said that they find it difficult to understand cursive handwriting.
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Most of my cards I write in a more print style to make it legible for people who learn a different alphabet. Fellow Germans may receive proper handwriting sometimes, but I am so used to the (tinier) print writing that I think I kind if adapted it as a second handwriting already 
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