Braille Contractions
Every Grade 2 contraction in Unified English Braille, generated from the engine, with a lookup that names the contractions in any word.
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What is Grade 2 braille?
Grade 2, or contracted, braille is UEB written with contractions: signs that stand for whole words or for groups of letters (ICEB 2.5). A contraction is one cell or a short group of cells. UEB has 180 of them, in nine types (ICEB 2.2, 10.1–10.9): 75 shortforms such as about, 45 initial- and final-letter contractions, 23 alphabetic wordsigns such as b for but, and 37 strong and lower signs such as and and ing. “The children would rather go out together.” takes 37 cells in Grade 1 and 13 in Grade 2.
Use uncontracted braille for readers who have not learned contractions, for words whose spelling matters, and for foreign words. (ICEB 2.5.4) The list below has 182 entries, because ⠆ (be) and ⠔ (in) are each both a wordsign and a groupsign.
“The children would rather go out together.” takes 37 cells in Grade 1:
In Grade 2 it takes 13. Children, would and together are abbreviated spellings, and rather and out are one cell each:
Every contraction, by type
UEB sorts its contractions into nine types, and each type has its own rules about where its signs may be used. (ICEB 2.2, 10.1–10.9) liblouis 3.39.0 produced each sign below, checked against the example word shown.
182 contractions shown.
Alphabetic wordsigns (23)
A single letter standing alone for a whole word. ICEB 10.1.
- but1-2
- can1-4
- do1-4-5
- every1-5
- from1-2-4
- go1-2-4-5
- have1-2-5
- just2-4-5
- knowledge1-3
- like1-2-3
- more1-3-4
- not1-3-4-5
- people1-2-3-4
- quite1-2-3-4-5
- rather1-2-3-5
- so2-3-4
- that2-3-4-5
- us1-3-6
- very1-2-3-6
- will2-4-5-6
- it1-3-4-6
- you1-3-4-5-6
- as1-3-5-6
Strong wordsigns (6)
One cell for a whole word; the same cells are also groupsigns inside words. ICEB 10.2.
- child1-6
- shall1-4-6
- this1-4-5-6
- which1-5-6
- out1-2-5-6
- still3-4
Strong contractions (5)
One cell for and, for, of, the and with, as a word or inside one. ICEB 10.3.
- and1-2-3-4-6as in sand
- for1-2-3-4-5-6as in forget
- of1-2-3-5-6as in soft
- the2-3-4-6as in then
- with2-3-4-5-6as in withdraw
Strong groupsigns (12)
One cell for a group of letters anywhere in a word. ICEB 10.4.
- ch1-6as in chat
- gh1-2-6as in ghost
- sh1-4-6as in ship
- th1-4-5-6as in path
- wh1-5-6as in whim
- ed1-2-4-6as in red
- er1-2-4-5-6as in her
- ou1-2-5-6as in loud
- ow2-4-6as in cow
- st3-4as in stop
- ing3-4-6as in sing
- ar3-4-5as in car
Lower wordsigns (6)
A lower cell (no dots 1 or 4) for a whole word standing alone. ICEB 10.5.
- be2-3
- enough2-6
- were2-3-5-6
- his2-3-6
- in3-5
- was3-5-6
Lower groupsigns (10)
A lower cell for a group of letters, used only in certain positions. ICEB 10.6.
- ea2as in read
- be2-3as in begin
- bb2-3as in rabbit
- con2-5as in concert
- cc2-5as in accent
- dis2-5-6as in dismiss
- en2-6as in tent
- ff2-3-5as in effect
- gg2-3-5-6as in bigger
- in3-5as in tint
Initial-letter contractions (33)
Dot 5, dots 4-5 or dots 4-5-6 before the first letter or groupsign of the word. ICEB 10.7.
- upon4-5, 1-3-6
- these4-5, 2-3-4-6
- those4-5, 1-4-5-6
- whose4-5, 1-5-6
- word4-5, 2-4-5-6
- cannot4-5-6, 1-4
- had4-5-6, 1-2-5
- many4-5-6, 1-3-4
- spirit4-5-6, 2-3-4
- their4-5-6, 2-3-4-6
- world4-5-6, 2-4-5-6
- day5, 1-4-5
- ever5, 1-5
- father5, 1-2-4
- here5, 1-2-5
- know5, 1-3
- lord5, 1-2-3
- mother5, 1-3-4
- name5, 1-3-4-5
- one5, 1-3-5
- part5, 1-2-3-4
- question5, 1-2-3-4-5
- right5, 1-2-3-5
- some5, 2-3-4
- time5, 2-3-4-5
- under5, 1-3-6
- young5, 1-3-4-5-6
- there5, 2-3-4-6
- character5, 1-6
- through5, 1-4-5-6
- where5, 1-5-6
- ought5, 1-2-5-6
- work5, 2-4-5-6
Final-letter groupsigns (12)
Dots 4-6 or dots 5-6 before the last letter of the group; never at the start of a word. ICEB 10.8.
- ound4-6, 1-4-5as in found
- ance4-6, 1-5as in dance
- sion4-6, 1-3-4-5as in vision
- less4-6, 2-3-4as in careless
- ount4-6, 2-3-4-5as in count
- ence5-6, 1-5as in fence
- ong5-6, 1-2-4-5as in long
- ful5-6, 1-2-3as in useful
- tion5-6, 1-3-4-5as in nation
- ness5-6, 2-3-4as in kindness
- ment5-6, 2-3-4-5as in moment
- ity5-6, 1-3-4-5-6as in city
Shortforms (75)
Abbreviated spellings of particular words, used only for the listed words. ICEB 10.9, Appendix 1.
- about1, 1-2
- above1, 1-2, 1-2-3-6
- according1, 1-4
- across1, 1-4, 1-2-3-5
- after1, 1-2-4
- afternoon1, 1-2-4, 1-3-4-5
- afterward1, 1-2-4, 2-4-5-6
- again1, 1-2-4-5
- against1, 1-2-4-5, 3-4
- also1, 1-2-3
- almost1, 1-2-3, 1-3-4
- already1, 1-2-3, 1-2-3-5
- altogether1, 1-2-3, 2-3-4-5
- although1, 1-2-3, 1-4-5-6
- always1, 1-2-3, 2-4-5-6
- blind1-2, 1-2-3
- braille1-2, 1-2-3-5, 1-2-3
- could1-4, 1-4-5
- declare1-4-5, 1-4, 1-2-3
- declaring1-4-5, 1-4, 1-2-3, 1-2-4-5
- deceive1-4-5, 1-4, 1-2-3-6
- deceiving1-4-5, 1-4, 1-2-3-6, 1-2-4-5
- either1-5, 2-4
- friend1-2-4, 1-2-3-5
- first1-2-4, 3-4
- good1-2-4-5, 1-4-5
- great1-2-4-5, 1-2-3-5, 2-3-4-5
- him1-2-5, 1-3-4
- himself1-2-5, 1-3-4, 1-2-4
- herself1-2-5, 1-2-4-5-6, 1-2-4
- immediate2-4, 1-3-4, 1-3-4
- little1-2-3, 1-2-3
- letter1-2-3, 1-2-3-5
- myself1-3-4, 1-3-4-5-6, 1-2-4
- much1-3-4, 1-6
- must1-3-4, 3-4
- necessary1-3-4-5, 1-5, 1-4
- neither1-3-4-5, 1-5, 2-4
- paid1-2-3-4, 1-4-5
- perceive1-2-3-4, 1-2-4-5-6, 1-4, 1-2-3-6
- perceiving1-2-3-4, 1-2-4-5-6, 1-4, 1-2-3-6, 1-2-4-5
- perhaps1-2-3-4, 1-2-4-5-6, 1-2-5
- quick1-2-3-4-5, 1-3
- receive1-2-3-5, 1-4, 1-2-3-6
- receiving1-2-3-5, 1-4, 1-2-3-6, 1-2-4-5
- rejoice1-2-3-5, 2-4-5, 1-4
- rejoicing1-2-3-5, 2-4-5, 1-4, 1-2-4-5
- said2-3-4, 1-4-5
- such2-3-4, 1-6
- today2-3-4-5, 1-4-5
- together2-3-4-5, 1-2-4-5, 1-2-3-5
- tomorrow2-3-4-5, 1-3-4
- tonight2-3-4-5, 1-3-4-5
- itself1-3-4-6, 1-2-4
- its1-3-4-6, 2-3-4
- your1-3-4-5-6, 1-2-3-5
- yourself1-3-4-5-6, 1-2-3-5, 1-2-4
- yourselves1-3-4-5-6, 1-2-3-5, 1-2-3-6, 2-3-4
- themselves2-3-4-6, 1-3-4, 1-2-3-6, 2-3-4
- children1-6, 1-3-4-5
- should1-4-6, 1-4-5
- thyself1-4-5-6, 1-3-4-5-6, 1-2-4
- ourselves1-2-5-6, 1-2-3-5, 1-2-3-6, 2-3-4
- would2-4-5-6, 1-4-5
- because2-3, 1-4
- before2-3, 1-2-4
- behind2-3, 1-2-5
- below2-3, 1-2-3
- beneath2-3, 1-3-4-5
- beside2-3, 2-3-4
- between2-3, 2-3-4-5
- beyond2-3, 1-3-4-5-6
- conceive2-5, 1-4, 1-2-3-6
- conceiving2-5, 1-4, 1-2-3-6, 1-2-4-5
- oneself5, 1-3-5, 1-2-4
Why is “blvd” written with ⠰ in front?
A letters-sequence at the start of a word takes the grade 1 indicator ⠰ in front when it would otherwise be read as a longer word built from a shortform. Without it, blvd (⠃⠇⠧⠙) would read as a word built from ⠃⠇, the shortform for blind, and LLC as one built from ⠇⠇, the shortform for little. Words such as blue, black and llama cannot be read that way, so they need no indicator. (ICEB 10.9.8)
The grade 1 indicator also marks a single letter. A letter on its own, other than a, i or o, takes the grade 1 indicator ⠰ so that it is not read as a whole word. (ICEB 2.6.1, 5.2.1, 5.7.1) The braille alphabet page has examples.
The engine writes blvd as:
Questions
How many contractions are there in UEB?
UEB has 180. This page lists 182 entries, in nine types, because ⠆ (be) and ⠔ (in) are each listed twice; each heading in the list gives its count. A few signs belong to two types, such as ⠔ for the word “in” and for the letters “in” inside a word.
Did UEB drop any contractions?
Yes. Older English braille codes used signs for to, into, by, ble, com, dd, ation, ally and o’clock that UEB does not use, and wrote a, and, for, of, the and with joined together. The translator page explains why other translators give different braille.
Can I use a contraction anywhere the letters appear?
No. Each type has rules: lower groupsigns such as ea, bb and ff go only in the middle of a word, final-letter groupsigns never start a word, and the rules skip a contraction where it would make the word hard to read. The engine applies these rules; the lookup above shows its choices.
Where is the full list of contractions?
In the Rules of Unified English Braille, which the International Council on English Braille publishes free. They list every contraction and shortform with the rules for using them. Our source list entry for the Rules links to the free download.
Rules: Rules of Unified English Braille, Third Edition 2024, cited by section number. Braille examples come from liblouis 3.39.0. All sources and when they were checked