Text to braille, and back.
Type English text for uncontracted braille you can copy and paste, or paste braille to read it as text. Capitals, numbers and common punctuation follow Unified English Braille.
Uncontracted braille for learning and design. It is not a substitute for a certified transcription for braille readers.
The braille alphabet
Numbers
Punctuation
Indicators
How braille works
Each braille character is a cell of up to six raised dots, two columns of three, numbered 1-2-3 down the left and 4-5-6 down the right. The first ten letters, a to j, use only the top four dots. The next ten, k to t, add dot 3, and u, v, x, y and z add dots 3 and 6. W is the exception: it was added later for English and has its own pattern.
Because there are only 64 possible cells, braille uses indicators to change meaning: a capital sign before a capital letter, a number sign before digits (which reuse a to j), and a grade 1 indicator when a letter would otherwise be read as a digit.
Grade 1 and Grade 2 braille
This translator writes every letter out, which is uncontracted or Grade 1 braille, and is what learners and designers usually need. Most books and documents use contracted (Grade 2) braille, in which about 180 contractions shorten common words and letter groups: "and" and "the" each take a single cell. Translating to Grade 2 correctly depends on context and rules, so for real-world use rely on a certified braille transcriber or software built for it.
Frequently asked questions
What kind of braille does this produce? +
Uncontracted (Grade 1) Unified English Braille, where every letter is written out. Most published English braille is contracted (Grade 2), which uses shorter signs for common words and letter groups. For anything a braille reader will rely on, such as signage, menus or documents, use a certified transcriber or dedicated software like Liblouis.
Can I paste these braille characters anywhere? +
Yes. They are standard Unicode braille patterns (U+2800 to U+28FF), so they paste into documents, social media and chat like any other text. They are visual dot patterns, though; screen readers announce them as dot numbers, so do not use them in place of real text for blind readers.
How are numbers written in braille? +
A number sign (dots 3-4-5-6) comes before the digits, which then use the first ten letters: a is 1, b is 2, through j for 0. So 2026 is ⠼⠃⠚⠃⠋. If a letter from a to j follows a number, a grade 1 indicator (dots 5-6) shows it is a letter again.
How are capital letters shown? +
A capital sign (dot 6) goes before a capital letter. Two capital signs before a word mean the whole word is in capitals, as in ⠠⠠⠝⠁⠎⠁ for NASA.
How do the dot numbers work? +
A braille cell has six dots in two columns of three. The left column is dots 1, 2 and 3 from top to bottom and the right column is dots 4, 5 and 6. The letter d, for example, is dots 1-4-5.