Braille Alphabet

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How Braille Numbers Work

braille alphabet chart

Braille Alphabet Chart (Grade 1)

The braille alphabet organizes its 26 letters into three groups built by adding dots inside a fixed 2-column-by-3-row cell, the chart below shows every letter with its exact dot pattern.

How 26 letters fit into just 6 dots

A braille cell has 6 possible dot positions (numbered 1, 2, 3 top-to-bottom on the left column, and 4, 5, 6 on the right), giving 64 possible combinations, plenty for 26 letters. The alphabet is built in three "decades": letters a-j use only the four upper dots (1, 2, 4, 5); letters k-t repeat the exact same ten patterns from a-j with dot 3 added; and five of the last six letters (u, v, x, y, z) repeat the first five patterns from a-e with dot 6 added. The letter "w" is the one historical exception, it was not part of the French alphabet when Louis Braille devised the system, so it was assigned the one remaining pattern (dots 2, 4, 5, 6) out of sequence.
Every letter in the interactive table below appears in two equivalent forms: as a real Unicode character from the Braille Patterns block (for example, the letter "a" is just dot 1, computed as the character U+2801) and as a visual dot diagram. Because it is genuine Unicode, any letter can be copied and pasted as plain text, into a message, a document or a post, without needing an image or a special font.

Examples

Simple word

Input: cat
Expected output: ⠉⠁⠞

c = dots 1,4 · a = dot 1 · t = dots 2,3,4,5.

Capital letter

Input: Braille
Expected output: ⠠⠃⠗⠁⠊⠇⠇⠑

The capital sign (dot 6 alone) precedes the first letter.

Full tool FAQ

What's the difference between Grade 1 and Grade 2 braille?

Grade 1 (uncontracted) spells out every letter and digit individually, exactly as this table shows. Grade 2 (contracted) adds hundreds of abbreviations, where a single cell or short group of cells can stand for a whole word or part of one, to save space and reading time. Most braille books and signage use Grade 2; this tool covers Grade 1 only.

How do numbers work in braille?

Why do Unicode braille characters exist?

Does this table apply to Portuguese braille?

How does braille represent capital letters?

Will the copied braille display correctly everywhere?

Frequently asked questions

How many letters does the braille alphabet have?

26, the same as the English Latin alphabet, from A to Z, each with a unique dot pattern inside the 6-position cell.

Is any dot pattern repeated between different letters?

No. All 26 Grade 1 letters have 26 distinct dot patterns from each other, that is what keeps the alphabet unambiguous to read. Digits, however, deliberately reuse the a-j patterns (see the braille numbers page).

Why does the letter "w" break the pattern?

Because the braille system was created by Louis Braille in France in 1821, and "w" was barely used in French at the time. When the alphabet was adapted for English, "w" was assigned the one leftover 6-dot pattern (dots 2, 4, 5, 6), outside the logical sequence followed by the other u-z letters.

Next steps

Braille	Dots	Kind
⠁	1	Letter
⠃	1,2	Letter
⠉	1,4	Letter
⠙	1,4,5	Letter
⠑	1,5	Letter
⠋	1,2,4	Letter
⠛	1,2,4,5	Letter
⠓	1,2,5	Letter
⠊	2,4	Letter
⠚	2,4,5	Letter
⠅	1,3	Letter
⠇	1,2,3	Letter
⠍	1,3,4	Letter
⠝	1,3,4,5	Letter
⠕	1,3,5	Letter
⠏	1,2,3,4	Letter
⠟	1,2,3,4,5	Letter
⠗	1,2,3,5	Letter
⠎	2,3,4	Letter
⠞	2,3,4,5	Letter
⠥	1,3,6	Letter
⠧	1,2,3,6	Letter
⠺	2,4,5,6	Letter
⠭	1,3,4,6	Letter
⠽	1,3,4,5,6	Letter
⠵	1,3,5,6	Letter
⠼	3,4,5,6	Number sign
⠁	1	Digit
⠃	1,2	Digit
⠉	1,4	Digit
⠙	1,4,5	Digit
⠑	1,5	Digit
⠋	1,2,4	Digit
⠛	1,2,4,5	Digit
⠓	1,2,5	Digit
⠊	2,4	Digit
⠚	2,4,5	Digit

Symbol

Braille

Dots

Kind

⠁

Letter

⠃

1,2

Letter

⠉

1,4

Letter

⠙

1,4,5

Letter

⠑

1,5

Letter

⠋

1,2,4

Letter

⠛

1,2,4,5

Letter

⠓

1,2,5

Letter

⠊

2,4

Letter

⠚

2,4,5

Letter

⠅

1,3

Letter

⠇

1,2,3

Letter

⠍

1,3,4

Letter

⠝

1,3,4,5

Letter

⠕

1,3,5

Letter

⠏

1,2,3,4

Letter

⠟

1,2,3,4,5

Letter

⠗

1,2,3,5

Letter

⠎

2,3,4

Letter

⠞

2,3,4,5

Letter

⠥

1,3,6

Letter

⠧

1,2,3,6

Letter

⠺

2,4,5,6

Letter

⠭

1,3,4,6

Letter

⠽

1,3,4,5,6

Letter

⠵

1,3,5,6

Letter

⠼

3,4,5,6

Number sign

⠁

Digit

⠃

1,2

Digit

⠉

1,4

Digit

⠙

1,4,5

Digit

⠑

1,5

Digit

⠋

1,2,4

Digit

⠛

1,2,4,5

Digit

⠓

1,2,5

Digit

⠊

2,4

Digit

⠚

2,4,5

Digit

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braille alphabet chart

Braille Alphabet Chart (Grade 1)

The braille alphabet organizes its 26 letters into three groups built by adding dots inside a fixed 2-column-by-3-row cell, the chart below shows every letter with its exact dot pattern.

How 26 letters fit into just 6 dots

A braille cell has 6 possible dot positions (numbered 1, 2, 3 top-to-bottom on the left column, and 4, 5, 6 on the right), giving 64 possible combinations, plenty for 26 letters. The alphabet is built in three "decades": letters a-j use only the four upper dots (1, 2, 4, 5); letters k-t repeat the exact same ten patterns from a-j with dot 3 added; and five of the last six letters (u, v, x, y, z) repeat the first five patterns from a-e with dot 6 added. The letter "w" is the one historical exception, it was not part of the French alphabet when Louis Braille devised the system, so it was assigned the one remaining pattern (dots 2, 4, 5, 6) out of sequence.

Every letter in the interactive table below appears in two equivalent forms: as a real Unicode character from the Braille Patterns block (for example, the letter "a" is just dot 1, computed as the character U+2801) and as a visual dot diagram. Because it is genuine Unicode, any letter can be copied and pasted as plain text, into a message, a document or a post, without needing an image or a special font.

Full tool FAQ

What's the difference between Grade 1 and Grade 2 braille?

How do numbers work in braille?

Why do Unicode braille characters exist?

Does this table apply to Portuguese braille?

How does braille represent capital letters?

Will the copied braille display correctly everywhere?

Frequently asked questions

How many letters does the braille alphabet have?

26, the same as the English Latin alphabet, from A to Z, each with a unique dot pattern inside the 6-position cell.