Phrase
“stop” in braille
Asked about more often than you would expect, and worth knowing because the st in the middle is one cell in Grade 2 — a clean demonstration of a groupsign inside a short word.
Grade 1 — letter by letter
4 cells
Grade 2 — contracted
3 cells — 1 fewer than Grade 1.
What Grade 2 changed, word by word
Grade 2 takes this phrase from 4 cells to 3 — 1 cell shorter. One word accounts for it, and here is exactly which rule applied to each.
| Word | Grade 1 | Grade 2 | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|
| stop | 4 cells | 3 cells | the “st” group becomes one cell |
A contraction is not an abbreviation — the word is still spelled in full, it is just written with fewer cells. A Grade 2 reader sees no difference in meaning, only in length. All the contractions are listed with the position rules that decide when each may be used.
Letter by letter
Before you emboss it
If this is going onto something permanent — jewellery, a card, a tattoo — decide which grade you want first. The two are different lengths and a Grade 2 reader will read the Grade 1 version perfectly well, but not the other way round if the contraction is misapplied.
See the bracelet pattern maker for turning this into a physical layout.
“stop” as an image
The Grade 2 cells drawn, for a card, a stencil or a message.
