Shortform
“him” in braille
Written h-m — 3 letters cut to 2 letters of abbreviation, then written in 2 cells. That is 1 cell saved every time the word appears.
dots 1-2-5, then dots 1-3-4
Unicode ⠓⠍ — 3 letters in 2 cells
How to recognise it
h-m in two cells. It is one of the three shortforms that do not keep their cells before an added s — “hims” is spelled out (Rules of Unified English Braille 10.9.5). The Shortforms List names two longer words for it, himbo and himboes; “himself” is a shortform of its own.
Two steps, not one
Abbreviated in letters first, then written in cells. “him” loses 1 letter — i — to become hm. Every letter of the abbreviation is then written as itself, one cell each.
| Stage | What it is | Cells |
|---|---|---|
| Spelled out | him | 3 cells |
| Abbreviated | hm | 2 letters |
| Written | 2 cells |
Longer words that keep it
For “him” the Shortforms List (Rules of Unified English Braille, Appendix 1) names two longer words that keep it: himbo ⠓⠍⠃⠕ and himboes ⠓⠍⠃⠕⠑⠎. A longer word that is not on the list is spelled out. An added s does not keep it: “hims” is spelled out, ⠓⠊⠍⠎, one of the three words rule 10.9.5 names.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| himalaya | 8 cells | |
| himalayan | 9 cells | |
| himation | 6 cells |
What these 2 cells mean elsewhere
Every cell here has other jobs, which is where misreadings come from:
| Cell | Dots | What it is elsewhere |
|---|---|---|
| 1-2-5 | the letter h; the word “have” standing alone | |
| 1-3-4 | the letter m; the word “more” 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 42 times and saves 42 cells. That is 0.12% of everything Grade 2 saves in the book, and ranks it 107th of the 158 contractions used.
Every one of those is the word “him” itself.
Check your own text
The translator writes “him” with Grade 2 selected, and the contractions page has all seventy-five.
“him” in braille as an image
The word as it is actually written: hm in 2 cells, not 3 letters.
