Shortform
“its” in braille
Written x-s — 3 letters cut to 2 letters of abbreviation, then written in 2 cells. That is 1 cell saved every time the word appears.
dots 1-3-4-6, then dots 2-3-4
Unicode ⠭⠎ — 3 letters in 2 cells
How to recognise it
x-s, and there is no x anywhere in “its”. Together with “itself” it is one of only two shortforms on the list written with a letter the word does not contain.
Two steps, not one
Abbreviated in letters first, then written in cells. “its” loses 3 letters — i, t, s — to become xs. Every letter of the abbreviation is then written as itself, one cell each.
| Stage | What it is | Cells |
|---|---|---|
| Spelled out | its | 3 cells |
| Abbreviated | xs | 2 letters |
| Written | 2 cells |
It carries no endings
Nothing derived from “its” keeps this shortform: of the 2 English words that begin with it, the reference spells every one out. These 2 cells write the bare word and nothing else. “good” is the opposite case — it carries seven different endings.
Words that only look like it
Two words start with these letters, and one of them is the other shortform. It begins with the same letters and is written out in full.
| Word | In braille | Cells |
|---|---|---|
| itsy | 4 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 1-3-4-6 | the letter x; the word “it” standing alone | |
| 2-3-4 | the letter s; the word “so” standing alone |
Check your own text
The translator writes “its” with Grade 2 selected, and the contractions page has all seventy-three.
“its” in braille as an image
The word as it is actually written: xs in 2 cells, not 3 letters.
