Learn Forkner shorthand from scratch
Forkner is the friendliest of the classic shorthand systems: it starts from the cursive handwriting you already know, then streamlines it with a handful of symbols and rules. Most people can read and write basic Forkner within a couple of weeks of short daily practice.
Start Lesson 1 Cheat sheetYour course
Just getting started — begin with Lesson 1.
- 1 FoundationsWhat Forkner is, and the one rule behind everything: write what you hear ✓
- 2 Streamlined lettersSimplified cursive, and the vowels you simply stop writing ✓
- 3 Vowel marksDots and ticks that stand in for a, o, u, and short i ✓
- 4 Speed symbolsh, th, ch, sh, the m-stroke, -ing, st, and trans- ✓
- 5 Brief forms & phrasingOne-letter words, abbreviations, and joining common phrases ✓
- 6 Building speedDictation drills, a four-week plan, and where to go next ✓
What is Forkner shorthand?
Forkner shorthand is an alphabetic shorthand system created by Hamden L. Forkner, a professor at Columbia University's Teachers College, and first published in the 1950s. Unlike Gregg or Pitman — which replace the alphabet entirely with abstract strokes — Forkner keeps ordinary joined cursive lowercase letters and speeds them up three ways:
1. Write what you hear. Consonants are written phonetically and silent letters vanish: know becomes no, phone becomes fon.
2. Stop writing most vowels. Short e disappears entirely (less → ls), and a/o/u and short i shrink to quick dots and ticks added after the word — or get skipped altogether.
3. A few symbols for slow sounds. A dash above the line means h; written through c, s, or t it makes ch, sh, th. One long stroke replaces m, and a small curve ends words in -ing.
Forkner tops out slower than Gregg or Pitman in expert hands, but it's dramatically faster to learn — which is why it spread through schools from the 1950s into the 1980s, and why it's still a great choice for personal note-taking today.
How to use this course
Work in order. Each lesson builds on the last and ends with a short quiz. Mark lessons complete to track progress (saved on this device).
Write by hand, every day. Ten to fifteen minutes with pen and ruled paper beats an hour of reading. Shorthand is a motor skill, like an instrument.
Do the “Write it out” drills. Every lesson has graded practice sets — words, sentences, passages, and read-back exercises — with the answer key hidden until you ask for it. Work them in your notebook, then reveal the key and mark your own paper. There's a Print worksheet button if you'd rather have the prompts on paper beside you.
Drill on the go. The Practice page has flashcards and quizzes designed for your phone — perfect for queues and commutes.
Sources & further reading
This course is an independent study guide based on publicly available descriptions of the Forkner system:
- Forkner shorthand — Wikipedia
- Forkner Alphabet shorthand — Britannica
- Forkner Shorthand — Art of Memory wiki
- Three Shorthands — a modern learner's comparison
For the complete original system, look for used copies of Forkner Shorthand (4th or 6th edition) by Hamden L. Forkner — details like exact vowel-mark shapes and the full brief-form list vary slightly between editions.