Dot on the letter i

[robert551069]

Is it necessary to dot the letter i when writing a letter to a friend?
If I write a business letter I always type it, so the question does not arise.

[luckystrike]

This is a bizarre question. If you don't dot the 'i', then it's not an 'i', so yes you do need to dot it or your letter will be full of spelling mistakes.

[factor-fiction]

If they can understand it that's all that matters.
You could write it all in capital letters if you prefer

[boxtops]

To be absolutely correct, yes - informally, no.

[Tilly2]

I dot my i's when I write anything but the dots aren't necessarilly in the right place.

[EvianBaby]

Mine either. I usually wait until I finish writing the word before I dot my i's and they normally end up halfway up the page.

[Tilly2]

^ necessarily

[4candles]

Don't cross the 't's either, and make it even harder to read.

[lankeela]

If you don't dot the i it will be an l (thats an 'ell')

[lankeela]

I just tried writing something and I write the word first then my hand automatically goes back and dots the i - I hadn't ever thought about it before but my brain is obviously geared to do it.

[mike11111]

What infuriates me is people who insist on dotting a capital I.

[rowanwitch]

sometimes I do sometimes I don't but as my i is half the height of my l it doesn't affect the readability

[Sheenamf]

Yes, every time, otherwise it's just wrong

[Zippolover]

Yes, you should always dot the "i".

In an informal letter it is not as important to place the dot precisely, but by not bothering at all you are showing a lack of care and respect for the recipient.

[Ann]

When handwriting I never dot the i - I usually do a teeny circle its just something I have always done as a little quirk :)

[MarkRae]

^^ I suppose that's better than drawing hearts above those letters - but only just...

[China Doll]

Yes, lower case I has a dot so it's necessary otherwise it's not a bloody I and is a lower case L! (I don't like when people play around with letters, does it show much?!)

And I dot my I's as I go along, I couldn't move on to the next letter without the previous letter being perfect... it would give me the hee-bee-geebies.... :c)

[Ann]

I have never seen a little heart drawn above an i Mark ................ but now you have given me the idea ....................LOL ;)

[jno]

beware of going to İstanbul, then, mike.

In handwriting, no, it doesn't matter, as long as what you write is legible. But because the i is a single short stroke and gets easily lost, it's normal to make it more clearly identifiable by dotting it. Likewise a t without a cross looks like an l.