Shortform
“before” in braille
Written b-e-f — 6 letters cut to 3 letters of abbreviation, then written in 2 cells. That is 4 cells saved every time the word appears.
dots 2-3, then dots 1-2-4
Unicode ⠆⠋ — 6 letters in 2 cells
How to recognise it
The be- sign then an f. All eight be- words are built this way, so the second cell is the whole thing to learn: f for before, h for behind, l for below. This is the commonest of the eight.
Two steps, not one
Abbreviated in letters first, then written in cells. “before” loses 3 letters — o, r, e — to become bef. Then it contracts again: be is a single cell, which is how 3 letters of abbreviation fit into 2 cells.
| Stage | What it is | Cells |
|---|---|---|
| Spelled out | before | 6 cells |
| Abbreviated | bef | 3 letters |
| Written | 2 cells |
Longer words that keep it
For “before” the Shortforms List (Rules of Unified English Braille, Appendix 1) names two longer words that keep it: beforehand ⠆⠋⠓⠯ and beforementioned ⠆⠋⠍⠢⠰⠝⠫. A longer word that is not on the list is spelled out. An added s keeps the cells as well: “befores” is ⠆⠋⠎ (10.9.5).
Words that only look like it
These begin with the same letters, are not on the Shortforms List, and are written out in full.
| Word | In braille | Cells |
|---|---|---|
| beforehandedness | 8 cells | |
| beforeness | 5 cells | |
| beforesaid | 7 cells | |
| beforetime | 5 cells |
Learn it with the be- words
This is one of 8 shortforms built to the same shape — the be- sign, then one letter: because (bec), behind (beh), below (bel), beneath (ben), beside (bes), between (bet), beyond (bey).
What these 2 cells mean elsewhere
Every cell here has other jobs, which is where misreadings come from:
| Cell | Dots | What it is elsewhere |
|---|---|---|
| 2-3 | the letters bb between two letters; the prefix be- at the start of a word; the word “be” standing alone; the semicolon | |
| 1-2-4 | the letter f; the word “from” standing alone |
In a whole book
In a count over the whole of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (26,439 words), this contraction is written 37 times and saves 148 cells. That is 0.43% of everything Grade 2 saves in the book, and ranks it 58th of the 158 contractions used.
Every one of those is the word “before” itself.
Check your own text
The translator writes “before” with Grade 2 selected, and the contractions page has all seventy-five.
“before” in braille as an image
The word as it is actually written: bef in 2 cells, not 6 letters.
