Braille Converter
Convert English text to Unicode Braille and Braille back to text. Supports letters, numbers, capitals, and common punctuation in uncontracted Grade 1 Braille.
Input
Output
Readme
What is Braille?
Braille is a tactile writing system used by people who are blind or have low vision. Each character is a cell of up to six raised dots arranged in two columns of three, and different dot patterns stand for different letters, numbers, and punctuation marks. It was developed by Louis Braille in the 1820s and is now used around the world.
Unicode includes a block of Braille Patterns (U+2800 to U+28FF), so Braille can be written, copied, and displayed as ordinary text, like ⠃⠗⠁⠊⠇⠇⠑.
Tool description
This Braille converter translates English text into Unicode Braille characters and translates Braille back into readable text. It uses uncontracted (Grade 1) English Braille, where every letter is written out one cell at a time. Pick the direction with the From and To menus, or press the swap button to reverse it.
Examples
| Text | Braille |
|---|---|
| Hello | ⠠⠓⠑⠇⠇⠕ |
| braille | ⠃⠗⠁⠊⠇⠇⠑ |
| NASA | ⠠⠠⠝⠁⠎⠁ |
| Room 42 | ⠠⠗⠕⠕⠍ ⠼⠙⠃ |
| Yes, please! | ⠠⠽⠑⠎⠂ ⠏⠇⠑⠁⠎⠑⠖ |
Features
- Converts text to Braille and Braille to text
- Handles capital letters, numbers, and common punctuation
- Uses standard Unicode Braille Patterns that copy and paste anywhere
- Works instantly as you type
How it works
Each letter from a to z maps to one Braille cell. A capital letter gets a capital sign (⠠) in front of it, and a word written entirely in capitals of two or more letters gets a double capital sign (⠠⠠). Numbers start with the number sign (⠼), after which the cells for a to j stand for the digits 1 to 9 and 0. The number ends at the next space or other character.
Punctuation such as commas, periods, question marks, apostrophes, hyphens, parentheses, and quotation marks has its own cells. Characters without a Braille equivalent are left unchanged.
Tips
- This tool does not produce contracted (Grade 2) Braille, which uses shortcuts for common words and letter groups
- Braille cells are shown as text, so you need a font that supports Unicode Braille Patterns to see them; most modern systems do
- This is meant for learning, sharing, and quick conversions; for official Braille documents, use a certified Braille transcription service
- Braille written in other languages or other Braille codes may not convert correctly