Shortform
“could” in braille
Written c-d — 5 letters cut to 2 letters of abbreviation, then written in 2 cells. That is 3 cells saved every time the word appears.
dots 1-4, then dots 1-4-5
Unicode ⠉⠙ — 5 letters in 2 cells
How to recognise it
c-d, and it belongs with “would” and “should” — each is the word’s opening sound plus a d. All three take -est, keep their cells before an added s as every shortform but three does, and refuse every other ending, which says more about archaic English than about braille.
Two steps, not one
Abbreviated in letters first, then written in cells. “could” loses 3 letters — o, u, l — to become cd. Every letter of the abbreviation is then written as itself, one cell each.
| Stage | What it is | Cells |
|---|---|---|
| Spelled out | could | 5 cells |
| Abbreviated | cd | 2 letters |
| Written | 2 cells |
Endings it keeps
Of the 6 English words that begin with these letters, the reference keeps the shortform in 2 of them. The one ending that survives is -est. Every other ending is spelled out except an added s, which keeps it as well: “coulds” is c-d-s, because a shortform keeps its cells when s is added (Rules of Unified English Braille 10.9.5).
| Word | In braille | Ending | Cells |
|---|---|---|---|
| couldest | -est | 4 cells |
Words that only look like it
The contracted spellings people actually write are not contracted in braille. Each begins with the same letters and is written out in full.
| Word | In braille | Cells |
|---|---|---|
| couldn | 5 cells | |
| couldnt | 6 cells | |
| couldna | 6 cells |
Learn it with the modal shortforms
This is one of 3 shortforms built to the same shape — the opening sound, then a d — and the set is far quicker learned together than one word at a time: should (shd), would (wd).
What these 2 cells mean elsewhere
Every cell here has other jobs, which is where misreadings come from:
| Cell | Dots | What it is elsewhere |
|---|---|---|
| 1-4 | the letter c; the word “can” standing alone | |
| 1-4-5 | the letter d; the word “do” standing alone |
Check your own text
The translator writes “could” with Grade 2 selected, and the contractions page has all seventy-five.
“could” in braille as an image
The word as it is actually written: cd in 2 cells, not 5 letters.
