Grade 2 Braille Contractions (Full Word List)
Grade 2 Braille (contracted Braille) replaces common words and letter groups with short signs, so a page holds far more and reading is faster. This is a complete reference to the main English (UEB) contractions: alphabetic wordsigns, strong wordsigns and groupsigns, with examples.
↓ Try the translator1. Alphabetic wordsigns
A single letter, standing alone, means a whole word.
| Word | Letter | Braille |
|---|---|---|
| but | b | ⠃ |
| can | c | ⠉ |
| do | d | ⠙ |
| every | e | ⠑ |
| from | f | ⠋ |
| go | g | ⠛ |
| have | h | ⠓ |
| just | j | ⠚ |
| knowledge | k | ⠅ |
| like | l | ⠇ |
| more | m | ⠍ |
| not | n | ⠝ |
| people | p | ⠏ |
| quite | q | ⠟ |
| rather | r | ⠗ |
| so | s | ⠎ |
| that | t | ⠞ |
| us | u | ⠥ |
| very | v | ⠧ |
| will | w | ⠺ |
| it | x | ⠭ |
| you | y | ⠽ |
| as | z | ⠵ |
2. Strong wordsigns & short-form words
| Word | Braille |
|---|---|
| and | ⠯ |
| for | ⠿ |
| of | ⠷ |
| the | ⠮ |
| with | ⠾ |
| child | ⠡ (ch) |
| shall | ⠩ (sh) |
| this | ⠹ (th) |
| which | ⠱ (wh) |
| out | ⠳ (ou) |
| still | ⠌ (st) |
3. Groupsigns (letter groups)
These signs stand for letter groups inside words, e.g. ch in "much", ing in "reading".
| Group | Braille |
|---|---|
| ch | ⠡ |
| sh | ⠩ |
| th | ⠹ |
| wh | ⠱ |
| ou | ⠳ |
| st | ⠌ |
| gh | ⠣ |
| ed | ⠫ |
| er | ⠻ |
| ow | ⠪ |
| ar | ⠜ |
| ing | ⠬ |
| en | ⠢ |
| in | ⠔ |
Grade 1 vs Grade 2 — example
The word "the" in Grade 1 is ⠞⠓⠑ (three cells); in Grade 2 it is a single sign ⠮. The sentence "the child" becomes ⠮ ⠡ — two cells instead of eight.
New to Braille? Start with the Braille alphabet, then the Grade 2 overview, and the full Braille chart.
Type text and see Grade 1 Braille
Grade 2 Braille — FAQ
What is Grade 2 Braille?
Grade 2 (contracted) Braille uses special signs to shorten common words and letter groups, so text takes less space and is faster to read. Grade 1 spells every letter out.
How many contractions are there?
Standard English Braille (UEB) uses about 180 contractions, including 23 alphabetic wordsigns, strong wordsigns like "and", "the", "for", and groupsigns like ch, sh, th and ing.
Does this translator produce Grade 2?
This site's translator produces accurate Grade 1 (letter-by-letter) Braille. Grade 2 is explained here with full tables; for contracted embossing, have it checked by a transcriber.
Where should I start learning contractions?
Begin with the alphabetic wordsigns (b = but, c = can, d = do...) and the five strong wordsigns and, for, of, the, with. They appear most often.