Braille Translator
Type text to see it in uncontracted (Grade 1) Unicode braille, or paste braille cells to read them as text. The tool handles letters, numbers, and common punctuation, adds capital and number signs, and shows an alphabet chart. It follows the Unified English Braille rules for numbers and capitals, but it is a learning aid, not a transcriber, and it lists where it stops. Free, no sign-up.
Direction
Braille Alphabet & Numbers Chart
⠁
a
⠃
b
⠉
c
⠙
d
⠑
e
⠋
f
⠛
g
⠓
h
⠊
i
⠚
j
⠅
k
⠇
l
⠍
m
⠝
n
⠕
o
⠏
p
⠟
q
⠗
r
⠎
s
⠞
t
⠥
u
⠧
v
⠺
w
⠭
x
⠽
y
⠵
z
⠼⠁
1
⠼⠃
2
⠼⠉
3
⠼⠙
4
⠼⠑
5
⠼⠋
6
⠼⠛
7
⠼⠓
8
⠼⠊
9
⠼⠚
0
Numbers reuse the letters a-j after the number indicator ⠼, and the capital indicator ⠠ marks the following letter as uppercase.
A Note on Grade 1 vs Grade 2 Braille
This tool produces Grade 1 (uncontracted) braille, where every letter is written out cell by cell. Most real-world braille — books, signage, official documents — is Grade 2 (contracted), which uses around 180 contractions and shorthand signs to save space and speed up reading.
Treat this translator as an educational aid for learning the braille alphabet, not a substitute for professional transcription. Material intended for blind readers should be prepared by a certified braille transcriber.
How to Use the Braille Translator
- 1. Choose the direction. Text → Braille turns what you type into braille cells. Braille → Text reads Unicode braille cells that you paste in.
- 2. Type or paste your input. The result updates as you type. Spaces stay as ordinary spaces, and any character the tool does not know passes through unchanged.
- 3. Check the output. A single capital gets a capital sign before it, a fully capitalised word such as NASA gets one capitals-word sign, and each number gets one number sign. Compare with the chart below the tool if you want to see how a cell is built.
- 4. Copy the result. The braille is Unicode text, so you can paste it into a document or message. It will show as dots on screen but is not a file for an embosser.
How a Braille Cell Works
A braille cell has six dot positions in two columns of three. Dots 1, 2, and 3 run down the left side, and dots 4, 5, and 6 down the right. The first ten letters, a to j, use only the top four dots (1, 2, 4, and 5). The letters k to t repeat a to j with dot 3 added. The letters u, v, x, y, and z repeat a to e with dots 3 and 6 added. The letter w is the exception, because French braille had no w when the alphabet was set, so w takes dots 2, 4, 5, and 6.
| Sign | Cell | Dots | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital letter | ⠠ | 6 | Placed before a letter to make it uppercase |
| Capitals word | ⠠⠠ | 6, 6 | Placed once before a word written entirely in capitals (rule 8.4) |
| Number sign | ⠼ | 3-4-5-6 | Turns the letters a–j that follow into the digits 1–9 and 0 |
| Grade 1 indicator | ⠰ | 5-6 | Placed between a digit and a lowercase letter a–j, so “3b” is not read as 32 (rule 6.5.2) |
There is no separate set of digit cells, so context decides the meaning. “⠼⠁⠚⠁” reads as the number 101, and without the number sign the same three cells read as “aja”. Numeric mode carries on through a comma or decimal point inside a number (rule 6.2), so 3,500 is written with one number sign, and it ends at a space, a hyphen, or any other symbol (rule 6.3). Because a to j double as digits, a lowercase letter from a to j straight after a digit needs the grade 1 indicator ⠰ (rule 6.5.2): “3b” is ⠼⠉⠰⠃, while “32” is ⠼⠉⠃.
Worked Examples
| Text | Tool output |
|---|---|
| Hello world | ⠠⠓⠑⠇⠇⠕ ⠺⠕⠗⠇⠙ |
| Braille 101 | ⠠⠃⠗⠁⠊⠇⠇⠑ ⠼⠁⠚⠁ |
| NASA | ⠠⠠⠝⠁⠎⠁ |
| Dr. Lee's 2 dogs | ⠠⠙⠗⠲ ⠠⠇⠑⠑⠄⠎ ⠼⠃ ⠙⠕⠛⠎ |
| 3,500 and 3b | ⠼⠉⠂⠑⠚⠚ ⠁⠝⠙ ⠼⠉⠰⠃ |
What “Grade 1” Means, and Where This Tool Stops
Grade 1 braille is uncontracted: every letter is written as its own cell. The Rules of Unified English Braille (UEB), published by the International Council on English Braille, use “grade 1 braille” and “uncontracted braille” as interchangeable terms. The Braille Authority of North America (BANA) set January 4, 2016 as the date for adopting UEB as the standard English braille code in the United States. Most published braille is contracted (often called Grade 2), which uses contractions to save space; this tool does not produce those.
For numbers and capitals the tool follows the Rules of Unified English Braille (3rd edition, 2024): rules 6.1 to 6.5 for numbers and 8.3 and 8.4 for capitals. It still differs from a full transcription in two ways.
| Case | UEB (Rules, 3rd ed., 2024) | This tool |
|---|---|---|
| Three or more capitalised words in a row, such as THE BBC AFRICA NEWS | A capitalised passage indicator ⠠⠠⠠ at the start and a terminator ⠠⠄ at the end (rule 8.5) | A capitals-word sign ⠠⠠ before each word, which rule 8.8 allows when it is unambiguous but does not prefer. Braille you paste in with ⠠⠠⠠ and ⠠⠄ is read correctly |
| Contractions, quotation marks, brackets, and symbols | Defined by the code | Contractions are not made, and characters outside its table pass through unchanged |
For those reasons, use the translator to learn the alphabet, to make a quick illustration, or to decode simple braille. Material meant for a blind reader should be prepared by a qualified braille transcriber, and braille for embossing uses a different, braille-ready file format.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What kind of braille does this translator produce?
- Uncontracted (Grade 1) English braille, shown with Unicode braille patterns. Every letter, digit, and supported punctuation mark is written cell by cell, with capital, capitals-word, number and grade 1 signs where the Unified English Braille rules call for them.
- What is the difference between Grade 1 and Grade 2 braille?
- Grade 1 spells every word letter by letter. Grade 2 is contracted braille, in which signs stand for common words and letter groups, so a word like “and” or “the” takes one cell or two. Most books and signs use contractions. This tool covers Grade 1 only.
- How are capital letters and numbers shown in braille?
- Braille has no separate capital or digit cells. A capital sign (dot 6) goes before an uppercase letter, ⠠⠠ goes before a word in all capitals, and a number sign (dots 3-4-5-6) goes before digits, which are then written with the letters a to j. A lowercase letter a to j right after a digit gets the grade 1 indicator ⠰ so it is not read as a digit.
- Can I translate braille back into text?
- Yes. Choose Braille → Text and paste Unicode braille cells. The tool reads capital, capitals-word and number signs, turns the a–j cells back into digits after a number sign (unless a grade 1 indicator comes first), and restores letters and punctuation. Braille from other codes, or contracted text, will not decode correctly.
- Can I print this and emboss it?
- No. The output is Unicode text for the screen. A braille embosser needs a braille-ready file, produced by braille transcription software, and the layout rules for paper braille are not handled here.
- How is an all-capitals word like NASA written?
- With one capitals-word sign, ⠠⠠, before the letters, as rule 8.4 of the Unified English Braille rules describes. A single capital letter, as in “Hello”, gets one ⠠ instead. Two or more capitals in a row, such as the TP in “DipTP”, count as a capitalised word.
- Is the text I enter sent anywhere?
- No. The conversion runs in your browser and nothing is uploaded or saved.