Shortform
“much” in braille
Written m-c-h — 4 letters cut to 3 letters of abbreviation, then written in 2 cells. That is 2 cells saved every time the word appears.
dots 1-3-4, then dots 1-6
Unicode ⠍⠡ — 4 letters in 2 cells
How to recognise it
m-ch, where the ch is one cell that also means the word “child”. It takes -ly and -ness but not -es, so “muches” is spelled out while “muchness” is not.
Two steps, not one
Abbreviated in letters first, then written in cells. “much” loses 1 letter — u — to become mch. Then it contracts again: ch is a single cell, which is how 3 letters of abbreviation fit into 2 cells.
| Stage | What it is | Cells |
|---|---|---|
| Spelled out | much | 4 cells |
| Abbreviated | mch | 3 letters |
| Written | 2 cells |
Longer words that keep it
For “much” the Shortforms List (Rules of Unified English Braille, Appendix 1) names six longer words that keep it: muchly ⠍⠡⠇⠽, inasmuch ⠔⠁⠎⠍⠡, insomuch ⠔⠎⠕⠍⠡, muchness ⠍⠡⠰⠎, overmuch ⠕⠧⠻⠍⠡ and forasmuch ⠿⠁⠎⠍⠡. A longer word that is not on the list is spelled out. An added s keeps the cells as well: “muchs” is ⠍⠡⠎ (10.9.5).
| Word | In braille | Ending | Cells |
|---|---|---|---|
| muchly | -ly | 4 cells | |
| muchness | -ness | 4 cells |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| muchacho | 6 cells | |
| muchacha | 6 cells | |
| muches | 5 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 | the letter m; the word “more” standing alone | |
| 1-6 | the letters ch inside a word, and the word “child” alone |
In a whole book
In a count over the whole of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (26,439 words), this contraction is written 54 times and saves 108 cells. That is 0.31% of everything Grade 2 saves in the book, and ranks it 71st of the 158 contractions used.
The words it is written in: much (51), muchness (3).
Check your own text
The translator writes “much” with Grade 2 selected, and the contractions page has all seventy-five.
“much” in braille as an image
The word as it is actually written: mch in 2 cells, not 4 letters.
