Braille Alphabet

Continue in the tool

Open full tool

More pages for this tool

Braille Alphabet Chart (Grade 1)

braille numbers

How Braille Numbers Work

Braille has no dedicated cell for each digit: numbers are letters a-j wearing a special prefix, the number sign.

The number sign (dots 3-4-5-6) and the a-j = 1-0 rule

Instead of reserving ten unique dot patterns for digits, literary braille reuses the first ten letters: a=1, b=2, c=3, d=4, e=5, f=6, g=7, h=8, i=9 and j=0. What signals that those cells should be read as numbers, not as the letters a-j, is the number sign: its own cell with dots 3, 4, 5 and 6 raised, placed immediately before the first cell of the number.
The number sign applies to the entire run of digits that follows, until a space or a letter appears. That means "123" uses just one number-sign cell followed by three digit cells (four cells total, not eight), but if a letter interrupts the run and digits resume afterward, the number sign has to be repeated before each new numeric span.

Examples

Three-digit number

Input: 123
Expected output: ⠼⠁⠃⠉

One number sign (⠼) before a-b-c (which stand for 1-2-3).

Number interrupted by a letter

Input: 12a34
Expected output: ⠼⠁⠃⠁⠼⠉⠙

The number sign reappears after the letter "a" to restart counting at "34".

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

Why doesn't braille have its own symbol for each number?

Because the 6-dot cell system was already crowded with the 26 letters, punctuation and other signs. Reusing a-j as 1-0, distinguished only by a prefix, avoided the need for extra patterns.

Does the number sign repeat for every digit?

No. It appears once, before the first digit of a numeric run, and stays in effect until a space or a letter shows up. It is only repeated if the numeric run is interrupted and then resumes.

Does the digit "0" use the same pattern as the letter "j"?

Yes. The standard convention maps a-j to 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-0, so "0" reuses exactly the dot pattern of "j" (dots 2, 4, 5), always preceded by the number sign.

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

The number sign (dots 3-4-5-6) and the a-j = 1-0 rule

Instead of reserving ten unique dot patterns for digits, literary braille reuses the first ten letters: a=1, b=2, c=3, d=4, e=5, f=6, g=7, h=8, i=9 and j=0. What signals that those cells should be read as numbers, not as the letters a-j, is the number sign: its own cell with dots 3, 4, 5 and 6 raised, placed immediately before the first cell of the number.

The number sign applies to the entire run of digits that follows, until a space or a letter appears. That means "123" uses just one number-sign cell followed by three digit cells (four cells total, not eight), but if a letter interrupts the run and digits resume afterward, the number sign has to be repeated before each new numeric span.

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

Why doesn't braille have its own symbol for each number?

Because the 6-dot cell system was already crowded with the 26 letters, punctuation and other signs. Reusing a-j as 1-0, distinguished only by a prefix, avoided the need for extra patterns.

Does the number sign repeat for every digit?

No. It appears once, before the first digit of a numeric run, and stays in effect until a space or a letter shows up. It is only repeated if the numeric run is interrupted and then resumes.

Does the digit "0" use the same pattern as the letter "j"?

Yes. The standard convention maps a-j to 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-0, so "0" reuses exactly the dot pattern of "j" (dots 2, 4, 5), always preceded by the number sign.