Shortform
“beside” in braille
Written b-e-s — 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 2-3-4
Unicode ⠆⠎ — 6 letters in 2 cells
How to recognise it
The be- sign then an s, and the s alone is the word “so”. “besides” keeps the shortform and adds another s, so both spellings ride on the same two cells — worth knowing, because beside and besides are not interchangeable in English. It is the only be- word with exactly one longer relative in the dictionary.
Two steps, not one
Abbreviated in letters first, then written in cells. “beside” loses 3 letters — i, d, e — to become bes. 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 | beside | 6 cells |
| Abbreviated | bes | 3 letters |
| Written | 2 cells |
Endings it keeps
One English word begins with these letters, and the reference keeps the shortform in it. The one ending that survives is -s. Everything else is spelled out.
| Word | In braille | Ending | Cells |
|---|---|---|---|
| besides | -s | 3 cells |
Learn it with the be- words
This is one of 8 shortforms built to the same shape — the be- sign, then one letter — and the set is far quicker learned together than one word at a time: because (bec), before (bef), behind (beh), below (bel), beneath (ben), 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 | |
| 2-3-4 | the letter s; the word “so” standing alone |
Check your own text
The translator writes “beside” with Grade 2 selected, and the contractions page has all seventy-three.
“beside” in braille as an image
The word as it is actually written: bes in 2 cells, not 6 letters.
