Braille Alphabet
Grade 1 Braille — dot patterns for every letter and number, plus a live text encoder.
Each cell is a 2-column × 3-row grid. Dots 1–3 are on the left, 4–6 on the right. Raised dots spell the character.
Alphabet A – Z
Numbers 1 – 0 (preceded by number indicator ⠼)
What is Braille?
Braille is a tactile writing system used by people who are visually impaired. It was invented by Louis Braille in 1824. Each character is represented by a pattern of raised dots in a cell that is 2 columns wide and 3 rows tall, giving 6 dot positions and 64 possible combinations.
Grade 1 vs Grade 2 Braille
Grade 1 (uncontracted) Braille represents each letter and number individually — this is what the tool shows. Grade 2 (contracted) Braille adds shorthand symbols for common words and letter sequences to allow faster reading and writing.
How numbers work in Braille
Numbers use the same dot patterns as letters A–J (for 1–0). A special number indicator cell (⠼, dots 3-4-5-6) is placed before the digits to tell the reader that what follows are numbers, not letters.
Multi-language Braille
Different languages extend the base 26-letter Braille alphabet with additional cells for language-specific characters. Norwegian adds Æ, Ø, and Å; German adds Ä, Ö, Ü, and ß; French adds fifteen accented characters; Ukrainian uses a completely separate Cyrillic-based Braille system. While many cells look identical across languages, each system is self-contained — the same raised dot pattern can represent different characters in different languages.