Shortform
“again” in braille
Written a-g — 5 letters cut to 2 letters of abbreviation, then written in 2 cells. That is 3 cells saved every time the word appears.
dots 1, then dots 1-2-4-5
Unicode ⠁⠛ — 5 letters in 2 cells
How to recognise it
a-g in two cells, and “against” is the same two cells plus a third. Learn the pair together and the longer word costs you nothing extra.
Two steps, not one
Abbreviated in letters first, then written in cells. “again” loses 3 letters — a, i, n — to become ag. Every letter of the abbreviation is then written as itself, one cell each.
| Stage | What it is | Cells |
|---|---|---|
| Spelled out | again | 5 cells |
| Abbreviated | ag | 2 letters |
| Written | 2 cells |
Only an added s keeps it
None of the 5 English words that begin with “again” keeps this shortform: the reference spells every one out. These 2 cells write the bare word, and with an s added they still stand: “agains” is a-g-s, because a shortform keeps its cells when s is added (Rules of Unified English Braille 10.9.5). “good” is the opposite case — it carries seven different endings.
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 | the letter a | |
| 1-2-4-5 | the letter g; the word “go” standing alone |
Check your own text
The translator writes “again” with Grade 2 selected, and the contractions page has all seventy-five.
“again” in braille as an image
The word as it is actually written: ag in 2 cells, not 5 letters.
