Braille Code Translator
The Braille code explained: the character map, the six-dot numbering and Braille Unicode. Convert text into Braille code right in your browser.
Understanding the Braille code
The Braille code is a system where every character is one cell of six dot positions. Each position is either raised or flat, giving 64 possible patterns — enough for letters, digits, punctuation and control signs.
Developers and learners often want the mapping between characters and cells. This page shows the code and lets you convert text into Braille cells, which are encoded in the Unicode Braille Patterns block (U+2800 to U+28FF).
Understanding the code helps in two ways: it makes the alphabet logical rather than arbitrary, and it lets you work with Braille text in software, since each cell is just a standard Unicode character you can store, search and display.
What makes Braille a code
It is worth pausing on what the word code means here. Braille is not a language and it is not a font. It is a systematic way of encoding characters as physical patterns, and that systematic nature is exactly what lets it be processed by both fingers and computers.
The whole system rests on one tiny structure: a cell of six dot positions, each either raised or flat. That yields a fixed, countable set of patterns, enough to cover letters, digits, punctuation and the special signs that change how following cells are read. Because the patterns are defined rather than artistic, they translate cleanly into Unicode, where each cell becomes a single standard character. That is why the output of this tool can be copied into a document, searched, stored in a database or displayed in almost any modern font. For developers and curious learners alike, seeing Braille as a clean character encoding, rather than a mysterious set of bumps, is the insight that makes everything else fall into place.
The six-dot cell and numbering
A Braille cell has two columns of three dots. They are numbered 1, 2, 3 down the left column and 4, 5, 6 down the right. A letter is described by which dots are raised — for example, the letter c is dots 1 and 4.
The Braille alphabet
Braille Unicode
Each cell maps to a Unicode character in the range U+2800–U+28FF. The pattern follows the dot numbers as bits, so the same code is portable across apps and fonts. This tool outputs those Unicode Braille characters, which you can copy anywhere.
Numbers in Braille
Using Braille Unicode in your projects
Because the output is real Unicode, you can drop it straight into documents, websites or apps. A few practical notes:
- Encoding: save files as UTF-8 so the Braille characters survive copy, paste and transfer.
- Fonts: most modern system fonts include the Braille block, so the cells display without anything special.
- Reversibility: the same cells decode back to text with the Braille to text translator, which is useful for round-trip testing.
- Scope: this is visual Grade 1 Braille for display and learning, not a substitute for certified transcription or a refreshable-display driver.
For the human-friendly view of the same system, the alphabet and what is Braille pages are the place to start.
Braille code examples
| Text | In Braille |
|---|---|
| Code | ⠠⠉⠕⠙⠑ |
| Dots | ⠠⠙⠕⠞⠎ |
| U+2800 | ⠠⠥+⠼⠃⠓⠚⠚ |
| abc123 | ⠁⠃⠉⠼⠁⠃⠉ |
Each example uses the standard Braille alphabet, with the capital sign (⠠) and number sign (⠼) applied when needed.
Tips and more
For a gentler overview, see the Braille alphabet. To decode cells back into characters, use the Braille to text translator.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Braille code?
A system mapping each character to a cell of six dots, with 64 possible patterns.
How are the dots numbered?
1, 2, 3 down the left column and 4, 5, 6 down the right.
What is Braille Unicode?
The Unicode block U+2800–U+28FF that encodes every Braille cell as a character.
Can I copy the Braille characters?
Yes. The output is standard Unicode Braille you can paste anywhere.
Does this do Grade 2 contractions?
No, it is Grade 1. See the Grade 2 page.