Braille Contractions: The Full UEB Grade 2 List
Braille contractions are cells, or short groups of cells, that stand for a whole word or a common group of letters instead of spelling it out. They are what makes Grade 2 (contracted) braille shorter and faster to read than Grade 1 (uncontracted). Unified English Braille (UEB) has 180 contractions, in seven types: "the" is ⠮, "knowledge" is ⠅ and "braille" is ⠃⠗⠇.
This page lists all of them, grouped by type, with the dots of each cell and, for the groupsigns, a word that shows them in use.
Key points
- English braille comes in Grade 1, letter by letter, and Grade 2, with contractions. Grade 2 is what English books and signs use.
- UEB has 180 contractions in seven types: alphabetic wordsigns (23), strong contractions and wordsigns (11), strong groupsigns (12), lower signs (14), initial-letter contractions (33), final-letter groupsigns (12) and shortforms (75).
- Each type has rules about where it can be used: some only as whole words, some only inside words.
- The standard learning path is the alphabet in Grade 1 first, then contractions, the most frequent first.
Grade 1 and Grade 2, side by side
| Grade 1 | Grade 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| "The children were knowing and quick with the world." | ⠠⠞⠓⠑ ⠉⠓⠊⠇⠙⠗⠑⠝ ⠺⠑⠗⠑ ⠅⠝⠕⠺⠊⠝⠛ ⠁⠝⠙ ⠟⠥⠊⠉⠅ ⠺⠊⠞⠓ ⠞⠓⠑ ⠺⠕⠗⠇⠙⠲ (44 cells) | ⠠⠮ ⠡⠝ ⠶ ⠐⠅⠬ ⠯ ⠟⠅ ⠾ ⠮ ⠸⠺⠲ (16 cells) |
The same sentence takes 44 cells in Grade 1 and 16 in Grade 2. Across a book, that difference is what makes contracted braille shorter to produce and faster to read. You can compare any text in our braille translator.
The seven types at a glance
| Type | How many | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Alphabetic wordsigns | 23 | A single letter standing alone for a whole common word: "b" alone is but, "p" alone is people. |
| Strong contractions and wordsigns | 11 | One cell for a whole word. |
| Strong groupsigns | 12 | One cell for a common group of letters, used inside words: ch, sh, th, ing and others.. |
| Lower signs | 14 | Cells that use only the lower part of the cell (no dots 1 or 4). |
| Initial-letter contractions | 33 | Two cells: dot 5, dots 4-5 or dots 4-5-6, followed by the first letter of a word such as day, know or world. |
| Final-letter groupsigns | 12 | Two cells, dots 4-6 or 5-6 followed by a letter, for common word endings such as -tion, -ness and -ment. |
| Shortforms | 75 | Short spellings of longer words: braille is written b-r-l, about is a-b. |
Alphabetic wordsigns
A single letter standing alone for a whole common word: "b" alone is but, "p" alone is people. Used only when the word stands alone.
| Stands for | Braille | Dots |
|---|---|---|
| as | ⠵ | 1-3-5-6 |
| but | ⠃ | 1-2 |
| can | ⠉ | 1-4 |
| do | ⠙ | 1-4-5 |
| every | ⠑ | 1-5 |
| from | ⠋ | 1-2-4 |
| go | ⠛ | 1-2-4-5 |
| have | ⠓ | 1-2-5 |
| just | ⠚ | 2-4-5 |
| knowledge | ⠅ | 1-3 |
| like | ⠇ | 1-2-3 |
| more | ⠍ | 1-3-4 |
| not | ⠝ | 1-3-4-5 |
| people | ⠏ | 1-2-3-4 |
| quite | ⠟ | 1-2-3-4-5 |
| rather | ⠗ | 1-2-3-5 |
| so | ⠎ | 2-3-4 |
| that | ⠞ | 2-3-4-5 |
| us | ⠥ | 1-3-6 |
| very | ⠧ | 1-2-3-6 |
| will | ⠺ | 2-4-5-6 |
| it | ⠭ | 1-3-4-6 |
| you | ⠽ | 1-3-4-5-6 |
Strong contractions and wordsigns
One cell for a whole word. and, for, of, the and with can also be used inside longer words; the others (child, shall, this, which, out, still) stand for the whole word.
| Stands for | Braille | Dots |
|---|---|---|
| and | ⠯ | 1-2-3-4-6 |
| for | ⠿ | 1-2-3-4-5-6 |
| of | ⠷ | 1-2-3-5-6 |
| the | ⠮ | 2-3-4-6 |
| with | ⠾ | 2-3-4-5-6 |
| child | ⠡ | 1-6 |
| shall | ⠩ | 1-4-6 |
| this | ⠹ | 1-4-5-6 |
| which | ⠱ | 1-5-6 |
| out | ⠳ | 1-2-5-6 |
| still | ⠌ | 3-4 |
Strong groupsigns
One cell for a common group of letters, used inside words: ch, sh, th, ing and others.
| Stands for | Braille | Dots | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| ch | ⠡ | 1-6 | chip ⠡⠊⠏ |
| gh | ⠣ | 1-2-6 | laugh ⠇⠁⠥⠣ |
| sh | ⠩ | 1-4-6 | shy ⠩⠽ |
| th | ⠹ | 1-4-5-6 | myth ⠍⠽⠹ |
| wh | ⠱ | 1-5-6 | whip ⠱⠊⠏ |
| ed | ⠫ | 1-2-4-6 | edit ⠫⠊⠞ |
| er | ⠻ | 1-2-4-5-6 | verb ⠧⠻⠃ |
| ou | ⠳ | 1-2-5-6 | loud ⠇⠳⠙ |
| ow | ⠪ | 2-4-6 | owl ⠪⠇ |
| st | ⠌ | 3-4 | stop ⠌⠕⠏ |
| ing | ⠬ | 3-4-6 | sing ⠎⠬ |
| ar | ⠜ | 3-4-5 | park ⠏⠜⠅ |
Lower signs
Cells that use only the lower part of the cell (no dots 1 or 4). Because they look like punctuation, UEB limits where each one can go; the notes below say when each is used.
| Stands for | Braille | Dots | Example | When it is used |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| be | ⠆ | 2-3 | Alone it means “be”; at the start of a word it is the syllable be- (be-low). | |
| ea | ⠂ | 2 | ocean ⠕⠉⠂⠝ | Only between letters, inside a word — never alone. |
| bb | ⠆ | 2-3 | rabbit ⠗⠁⠆⠊⠞ | Only between letters, inside a word — never alone. |
| con | ⠒ | 2-5 | concept ⠒⠉⠑⠏⠞ | Only at the beginning of a word, as a syllable (con-cept). |
| cc | ⠒ | 2-5 | occupy ⠕⠒⠥⠏⠽ | Only between letters, inside a word — never alone. |
| dis | ⠲ | 2-5-6 | dismiss ⠲⠍⠊⠎⠎ | Only at the beginning of a word, as a syllable (dis-miss). |
| en | ⠢ | 2-6 | end ⠢⠙ | Inside words anywhere; standing alone this cell means “enough”. |
| enough | ⠢ | 2-6 | Standing alone only — inside words this cell reads as “en”. | |
| ff | ⠖ | 2-3-5 | buffalo ⠃⠥⠖⠁⠇⠕ | Only between letters, inside a word — never alone. |
| were | ⠶ | 2-3-5-6 | Standing alone only — never inside a word. | |
| gg | ⠶ | 2-3-5-6 | buggy ⠃⠥⠶⠽ | Only between letters, inside a word — never alone. |
| his | ⠦ | 2-3-6 | Standing alone only — never inside a word. | |
| in | ⠔ | 3-5 | Inside words anywhere, and alone as the word “in”. | |
| was | ⠴ | 3-5-6 | Standing alone only — never inside a word. |
Initial-letter contractions
Two cells: dot 5, dots 4-5 or dots 4-5-6, followed by the first letter of a word such as day, know or world. Used as whole words and inside longer ones.
| Stands for | Braille | Dots |
|---|---|---|
| day | ⠐⠙ | 5 1-4-5 |
| ever | ⠐⠑ | 5 1-5 |
| father | ⠐⠋ | 5 1-2-4 |
| here | ⠐⠓ | 5 1-2-5 |
| know | ⠐⠅ | 5 1-3 |
| lord | ⠐⠇ | 5 1-2-3 |
| mother | ⠐⠍ | 5 1-3-4 |
| name | ⠐⠝ | 5 1-3-4-5 |
| one | ⠐⠕ | 5 1-3-5 |
| ought | ⠐⠳ | 5 1-2-5-6 |
| part | ⠐⠏ | 5 1-2-3-4 |
| question | ⠐⠟ | 5 1-2-3-4-5 |
| right | ⠐⠗ | 5 1-2-3-5 |
| some | ⠐⠎ | 5 2-3-4 |
| time | ⠐⠞ | 5 2-3-4-5 |
| under | ⠐⠥ | 5 1-3-6 |
| young | ⠐⠽ | 5 1-3-4-5-6 |
| there | ⠐⠮ | 5 2-3-4-6 |
| character | ⠐⠡ | 5 1-6 |
| through | ⠐⠹ | 5 1-4-5-6 |
| where | ⠐⠱ | 5 1-5-6 |
| work | ⠐⠺ | 5 2-4-5-6 |
| upon | ⠘⠥ | 4-5 1-3-6 |
| these | ⠘⠮ | 4-5 2-3-4-6 |
| those | ⠘⠹ | 4-5 1-4-5-6 |
| whose | ⠘⠱ | 4-5 1-5-6 |
| word | ⠘⠺ | 4-5 2-4-5-6 |
| cannot | ⠸⠉ | 4-5-6 1-4 |
| had | ⠸⠓ | 4-5-6 1-2-5 |
| many | ⠸⠍ | 4-5-6 1-3-4 |
| spirit | ⠸⠎ | 4-5-6 2-3-4 |
| their | ⠸⠮ | 4-5-6 2-3-4-6 |
| world | ⠸⠺ | 4-5-6 2-4-5-6 |
Final-letter groupsigns
Two cells, dots 4-6 or 5-6 followed by a letter, for common word endings such as -tion, -ness and -ment. Used inside and at the end of words, never as a word on their own.
| Stands for | Braille | Dots | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| tion | ⠰⠝ | 5-6 1-3-4-5 | nation ⠝⠁⠰⠝ |
| ness | ⠰⠎ | 5-6 2-3-4 | madness ⠍⠁⠙⠰⠎ |
| ment | ⠰⠞ | 5-6 2-3-4-5 | moment ⠍⠕⠰⠞ |
| ity | ⠰⠽ | 5-6 1-3-4-5-6 | city ⠉⠰⠽ |
| ence | ⠰⠑ | 5-6 1-5 | fence ⠋⠰⠑ |
| ong | ⠰⠛ | 5-6 1-2-4-5 | song ⠎⠰⠛ |
| ful | ⠰⠇ | 5-6 1-2-3 | joyful ⠚⠕⠽⠰⠇ |
| ound | ⠨⠙ | 4-6 1-4-5 | pound ⠏⠨⠙ |
| ance | ⠨⠑ | 4-6 1-5 | dance ⠙⠨⠑ |
| sion | ⠨⠝ | 4-6 1-3-4-5 | mansion ⠍⠁⠝⠨⠝ |
| less | ⠨⠎ | 4-6 2-3-4 | useless ⠥⠎⠑⠨⠎ |
| ount | ⠨⠞ | 4-6 2-3-4-5 | mount ⠍⠨⠞ |
Shortforms
Short spellings of longer words: braille is written b-r-l, about is a-b. Used as whole words and, for many of them, inside longer words.
| Stands for | Braille | Dots |
|---|---|---|
| about (ab) | ⠁⠃ | 1 1-2 |
| above (abv) | ⠁⠃⠧ | 1 1-2 1-2-3-6 |
| according (ac) | ⠁⠉ | 1 1-4 |
| across (acr) | ⠁⠉⠗ | 1 1-4 1-2-3-5 |
| after (af) | ⠁⠋ | 1 1-2-4 |
| afternoon (afn) | ⠁⠋⠝ | 1 1-2-4 1-3-4-5 |
| afterward (afw) | ⠁⠋⠺ | 1 1-2-4 2-4-5-6 |
| again (ag) | ⠁⠛ | 1 1-2-4-5 |
| against (agst) | ⠁⠛⠌ | 1 1-2-4-5 3-4 |
| also (al) | ⠁⠇ | 1 1-2-3 |
| almost (alm) | ⠁⠇⠍ | 1 1-2-3 1-3-4 |
| already (alr) | ⠁⠇⠗ | 1 1-2-3 1-2-3-5 |
| altogether (alt) | ⠁⠇⠞ | 1 1-2-3 2-3-4-5 |
| although (alth) | ⠁⠇⠹ | 1 1-2-3 1-4-5-6 |
| always (alw) | ⠁⠇⠺ | 1 1-2-3 2-4-5-6 |
| because (bec) | ⠆⠉ | 2-3 1-4 |
| before (bef) | ⠆⠋ | 2-3 1-2-4 |
| behind (beh) | ⠆⠓ | 2-3 1-2-5 |
| below (bel) | ⠆⠇ | 2-3 1-2-3 |
| beneath (ben) | ⠆⠝ | 2-3 1-3-4-5 |
| beside (bes) | ⠆⠎ | 2-3 2-3-4 |
| between (bet) | ⠆⠞ | 2-3 2-3-4-5 |
| beyond (bey) | ⠆⠽ | 2-3 1-3-4-5-6 |
| blind (bl) | ⠃⠇ | 1-2 1-2-3 |
| braille (brl) | ⠃⠗⠇ | 1-2 1-2-3-5 1-2-3 |
| children (chn) | ⠡⠝ | 1-6 1-3-4-5 |
| conceive (concv) | ⠒⠉⠧ | 2-5 1-4 1-2-3-6 |
| conceiving (concvg) | ⠒⠉⠧⠛ | 2-5 1-4 1-2-3-6 1-2-4-5 |
| could (cd) | ⠉⠙ | 1-4 1-4-5 |
| deceive (dcv) | ⠙⠉⠧ | 1-4-5 1-4 1-2-3-6 |
| deceiving (dcvg) | ⠙⠉⠧⠛ | 1-4-5 1-4 1-2-3-6 1-2-4-5 |
| declare (dcl) | ⠙⠉⠇ | 1-4-5 1-4 1-2-3 |
| declaring (dclg) | ⠙⠉⠇⠛ | 1-4-5 1-4 1-2-3 1-2-4-5 |
| either (ei) | ⠑⠊ | 1-5 2-4 |
| first (fst) | ⠋⠌ | 1-2-4 3-4 |
| friend (fr) | ⠋⠗ | 1-2-4 1-2-3-5 |
| good (gd) | ⠛⠙ | 1-2-4-5 1-4-5 |
| great (grt) | ⠛⠗⠞ | 1-2-4-5 1-2-3-5 2-3-4-5 |
| herself (herf) | ⠓⠻⠋ | 1-2-5 1-2-4-5-6 1-2-4 |
| him (hm) | ⠓⠍ | 1-2-5 1-3-4 |
| himself (hmf) | ⠓⠍⠋ | 1-2-5 1-3-4 1-2-4 |
| immediate (imm) | ⠊⠍⠍ | 2-4 1-3-4 1-3-4 |
| its (xs) | ⠭⠎ | 1-3-4-6 2-3-4 |
| itself (xf) | ⠭⠋ | 1-3-4-6 1-2-4 |
| letter (lr) | ⠇⠗ | 1-2-3 1-2-3-5 |
| little (ll) | ⠇⠇ | 1-2-3 1-2-3 |
| much (mch) | ⠍⠡ | 1-3-4 1-6 |
| must (mst) | ⠍⠌ | 1-3-4 3-4 |
| myself (myf) | ⠍⠽⠋ | 1-3-4 1-3-4-5-6 1-2-4 |
| necessary (nec) | ⠝⠑⠉ | 1-3-4-5 1-5 1-4 |
| neither (nei) | ⠝⠑⠊ | 1-3-4-5 1-5 2-4 |
| oneself (onef) | ⠐⠕⠋ | 5 1-3-5 1-2-4 |
| ourselves (ourvs) | ⠳⠗⠧⠎ | 1-2-5-6 1-2-3-5 1-2-3-6 2-3-4 |
| paid (pd) | ⠏⠙ | 1-2-3-4 1-4-5 |
| perceive (percv) | ⠏⠻⠉⠧ | 1-2-3-4 1-2-4-5-6 1-4 1-2-3-6 |
| perceiving (percvg) | ⠏⠻⠉⠧⠛ | 1-2-3-4 1-2-4-5-6 1-4 1-2-3-6 1-2-4-5 |
| perhaps (perh) | ⠏⠻⠓ | 1-2-3-4 1-2-4-5-6 1-2-5 |
| quick (qk) | ⠟⠅ | 1-2-3-4-5 1-3 |
| receive (rcv) | ⠗⠉⠧ | 1-2-3-5 1-4 1-2-3-6 |
| receiving (rcvg) | ⠗⠉⠧⠛ | 1-2-3-5 1-4 1-2-3-6 1-2-4-5 |
| rejoice (rjc) | ⠗⠚⠉ | 1-2-3-5 2-4-5 1-4 |
| rejoicing (rjcg) | ⠗⠚⠉⠛ | 1-2-3-5 2-4-5 1-4 1-2-4-5 |
| said (sd) | ⠎⠙ | 2-3-4 1-4-5 |
| should (shd) | ⠩⠙ | 1-4-6 1-4-5 |
| such (sch) | ⠎⠡ | 2-3-4 1-6 |
| themselves (themvs) | ⠮⠍⠧⠎ | 2-3-4-6 1-3-4 1-2-3-6 2-3-4 |
| thyself (thyf) | ⠹⠽⠋ | 1-4-5-6 1-3-4-5-6 1-2-4 |
| today (td) | ⠞⠙ | 2-3-4-5 1-4-5 |
| together (tgr) | ⠞⠛⠗ | 2-3-4-5 1-2-4-5 1-2-3-5 |
| tomorrow (tm) | ⠞⠍ | 2-3-4-5 1-3-4 |
| tonight (tn) | ⠞⠝ | 2-3-4-5 1-3-4-5 |
| would (wd) | ⠺⠙ | 2-4-5-6 1-4-5 |
| your (yr) | ⠽⠗ | 1-3-4-5-6 1-2-3-5 |
| yourself (yrf) | ⠽⠗⠋ | 1-3-4-5-6 1-2-3-5 1-2-4 |
| yourselves (yrvs) | ⠽⠗⠧⠎ | 1-3-4-5-6 1-2-3-5 1-2-3-6 2-3-4 |
Which contractions to learn first
Start with the ones that appear most: the five strong contractions and, for, of, the and with, and the alphabetic wordsigns such as but, can, do, it, that and you. With a handful of them you can already read real sentences, and the rest can be added a few at a time. Keep the alphabet solid first: how to learn braille as an adult covers that step.
How this list was checked
The list comes from the Grade 2 course data of the Braillito app, and every entry was checked against liblouis, the open-source braille translator used by screen readers such as NVDA, with its official UEB tables: all 180 match. The rules of use are summarised; the full rules are in the UEB rulebook published by the International Council on English Braille.
Frequently asked questions
How many contractions are there in braille?
Unified English Braille has 180 contractions. Other languages have their own sets, and some, such as Spanish, have an approved contracted system that is rarely used.
What is the difference between Grade 1 and Grade 2 braille?
Grade 1 spells every word letter by letter. Grade 2 uses contractions for common words and letter groups, so the same text takes fewer cells and is faster to read. English books, signs and documents normally use Grade 2.
Do I have to learn contractions?
To read English braille as it is published, yes: most braille you will meet is Grade 2. To start, no. Learn the alphabet in Grade 1 first, then add contractions.
Are braille contractions the same in every language?
No. Contractions belong to each language's code. The English "er" cell, for example, is the letter ñ in Spanish braille. See braille in other languages.