Braille Grade 1 vs Grade 2: which one should you use?

If you've spent any time around Braille, you've seen two names thrown around: Grade 1 and Grade 2. They're not harder and easier versions of the same thing. They're different systems for different jobs. This guide explains what each one does, when to use it, and how to pick the right one for your project.

The 30-second version

If you only have 30 seconds, here's the deal:

• Grade 1 (sometimes called "uncontracted Braille") spells every letter of every word. It's the most literal transcription of print into Braille.
• Grade 2 (also called "contracted Braille") uses shortcuts (whole words or letter groups represented by a single cell) to compress the output. It's how books, signs, and most published Braille actually look.

Neither is "better". They serve different purposes. Grade 1 is what you learn first. Grade 2 is what you read once you're fluent.

Grade 1, explained with examples

Grade 1 is one-to-one. Every letter you can read in print gets a dot pattern in Braille, no exceptions. The sentence:

The cat sat on the mat.

Becomes (in Grade 1):

⠞⠓⠑ ⠉⠁⠞ ⠎⠁⠞ ⠕⠝ ⠞⠓⠑ ⠍⠁⠞

That's 14 cells (the spaces between words are smaller in print, but each is a single space cell in Braille,). Each letter is its own cell. Easy to read, easy to learn, but bulky: a Braille novel in Grade 1 takes up roughly 30% more space than the same text in Grade 2.

Grade 1 is also the right choice for proper names, technical terms, and languages other than English. You can't contract a word you haven't defined as a contraction. If your reader doesn't recognize a whole-word sign, you've lost them: Grade 1 sidesteps that problem by being transparent.

Grade 2, explained with examples

Grade 2 uses contractions, symbols that represent a whole word or a chunk of a word. The most common ones are single-cell whole-word signs for "and", "for", "of", "the", "with", "but", "can", "do", "every", "from", "go", "have", "just", "knowledge", "like", "more", "not", "people", "quite", "rather", "so", "that", "us", "very", "will", "it", "you", "as", "his", "in", "was", "shall", "out", "still", "which".

Same sentence as before:

The cat sat on the mat.

In Grade 2, "the" becomes a single cell (⠮), so we drop from 14 cells to 10:

⠮ ⠉⠁⠞ ⠎⠁⠞ ⠕⠝ ⠮ ⠍⠁⠞

The savings scale. In a typical English novel, Grade 2 cuts the cell count by about 25%. In an information-dense passage (like an academic paper or a textbook), the savings can hit 35%.

Grade 2 is also faster to read once you've internalized the contractions, because your hand travels across fewer cells. That's why published Braille (books, restaurant menus, elevator panels) uses Grade 2 by default.

Side-by-side comparison

Here's a quick reference table to keep open while you decide:

When to use Grade 1 vs Grade 2

The honest answer is "it depends on your reader". But here are the rules of thumb that have served me well across 15+ years of accessibility projects:

Use Grade 1 when:

• The reader is a beginner (kids learning Braille start with Grade 1 in most school programs).
• The text contains many proper nouns, technical terms, or non-English words that don't have Grade 2 contractions.
• You're producing a quick label, an elevator panel, or a tactile map, short text where contractions don't save much.
• You're transcribing something for a non-native English reader who may not have learned Grade 2 yet.
• The audience explicitly requests it.

Use Grade 2 when:

• You're producing any document longer than a few sentences.
• The reader is fluent in Grade 2 (most active Braille readers are).
• You're producing books, magazines, menus, signage, or any kind of published reading material.
• Page space is tight: Grade 2 reduces the number of cells, which on a Braille embosser means fewer pages and lower cost.
• You're matching an existing Braille library's standard.

The recommended learning path

If you're new to Braille and want to learn both grades, here's the path I'd recommend after working with learners on accessibility projects:

1. Weeks 1 to 4: Grade 1 alphabet + numbers. Learn the 26 letters, the number indicator, and basic signs (period, comma, question mark). Use the Braille alphabet chart as a reference and the converter to verify your reading.
2. Weeks 5 to 8: Grade 1 reading practice. Read short texts (labels, signs, single-paragraph emails) fluently in Grade 1. Aim for 60+ words per minute.
3. Months 3 to 6: Grade 2 whole-word contractions. Learn the most common ones (the, and, for, of, with, but, can, you, etc.) and start recognizing them in print preview.
4. Months 6+: Grade 2 part-word contractions. Add the lower-group signs (ch, gh, sh, th, wh, ed, er, ou, ow, st, ar, ing) and read longer texts fluently.

If you want a more structured walkthrough, our guide to learning Braille covers daily practice routines, common mistakes, and resources.

Frequently asked questions

Curious about the human story behind Grade 2 and how it came to be the publishing standard? It's all part of the history of Braille. And if accessibility is what brought you here, don't miss Braille and digital accessibility.