Grade 2 contraction
The “er” contraction in braille
One cell for the letters “er” wherever they appear together in a word.
Dots 1-2-4-5-6
Unicode ⠻ — replaces the letters er
How to recognise it
Dots 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 — the full cell minus dot 3.
Words that use it
Each of these is shorter in Grade 2 than in Grade 1, because the letters “er” collapse into a single cell wherever the rules allow it.
| Word | In braille (Grade 2) | Grade 1 | Grade 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| water | 5 cells | 4 cells | |
| under | 5 cells | 4 cells | |
| her | 3 cells | 2 cells | |
| never | 5 cells | 4 cells |
Contractions it is confused with
These differ from “er” by a single dot, which is where reading errors actually happen. Under a fingertip a missing or extra dot is far easier to miss than a completely different shape, so these are the ones worth drilling against each other.
Check your own text
Type anything into the translator with Grade 2 selected and this cell will appear wherever the rules allow it. The full contraction list shows the other eighteen, and Grade 1 versus Grade 2 explains when contracted braille is the right choice at all.