Braille

Every character in the braille code is based on an arrangement of one to six raised dots.
Each dot has a numbered position in the braille cell.
These characters make up the letters of the alphabet, punctuation marks, numbers, and everything else you can do in print.

The Braille Cell

numbered braille cell

The letter "A" is written with only 1 dot.
dot 1
The letter "D" has dots 1, 4, and 5.
dots 1, 4, and 5
The letter "Y" has dots 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6.
dots 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6
A "Period" is written with dots 2, 5, and 6.
(Do you see how it is the same shape as the letter "D," only lower down in the cell?)
dots 2, 5, and 6
When all six dots are used, the character is called a "full cell"
dots 1 2 3 4 5 6

The braille alphabet

The picture below shows you how the dots are arranged in the braille cell for each letter of the alphabet.
See if you can find the letters in your name and tell the dot numbers for each one.
Dot 1
a
 Dots 1 2
b
 Dots 1 4
c
 Dots 1 4 5
d
 Dots 1 5
e
 Dots 1 2 4
f
 Dots 1 2 4 5
g
 Dots 1 2 5
h
 Dots 2 4
i
 Dots 2 4 5
j
Dots 1 3
k
 Dots 1 2 3
l
 Dots 1 3 4
m
 Dots 1 3 4 5
n
 Dots 1 3 5
o
 Dots 1 2 3 4
p
 Dots 1 2 3 4 5
q
 Dots 1 2 3 5
r
 Dots 2 3 4
s
 Dots 2 3 4 5
t
Dots 1 3 6
u
 Dots 1 2 3 6
v
 Dots 2 4 5 6
w
 Dots 1 3 4 6
x
 Dots 1 3 4 5 6
y
 Dots 1 3 5 6
z


Braille does not have a separate alphabet of capital letters as there is in print.
Capital letters are indicated by placing a dot 6 in front of the letter to be capitalized.
Two capital signs mean the whole word is capitalized.
One Letter Capitalized   dot 6          Entire Word Capitalized   dot 6 dot 6

Braille Numbers

Braille numbers are made using the first ten letters of the alphabet, "a" through "j", and a special number sign, dots 3, 4, 5, and 6.
Dots 3 4 5 6
#
 Dots 2 4 5
0
 Dot 1
1
 Dots 1 2
2
 Dots 1 4
3
 Dots 1 4 5
4
 Dots 1 5
5
 Dots 1 2 4
6
 Dots 1 2 4 5
7
 Dots 1 2 5
8
 Dots 2 4
9

Larger numbers only need one number sign.
The comma in braille is dot 2.
dot 2

Expanding the Code

Now that you understand how dots are arranged in the braille cell to make the letters of the alphabet and numbers, you're ready to learn more about the code. Braille uses special characters called contractions to make words shorter. We use contractions like "don't" as a short way of writing two words, such as "do" and "not." In braille there are many additional contractions, 189 in all! Using these contractions saves space, which is very important because braille books are much larger and longer than print books.
Some contractions stand for a whole word
and = dots 1 2 3 4 6      the = dots 2 3 4 6

Other contractions stand for a group of letters within a word.
 ing = dots 3 4 6      ed = dots 1 2 4 6


Logo for the American Foundation for the BlindYou can find more information about Braille at: http://www.afb.org/braillebug/
It was made by the American Foundation for the Blind.

Pictures reproduced from www.afb.org/braillebug, copyright© 2006, American Foundation for the Blind. Used with permission of the publisher.
"The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision"

© - Site Seeing - Sonny, Lotje, Laurette en Femke, The Netherlands 2006