English to Braille Translator
Translate English into Braille online and free. Convert English text into the six-dot Braille alphabet, with the capital and number signs handled for you.
Translate English into Braille
This English to Braille translator converts English text into Grade 1 Braille — the uncontracted form where every letter is written out. Because English uses the 26-letter Latin alphabet, the mapping is the universal Braille alphabet, with no accented letters to worry about.
Type any English word or sentence and read the Braille instantly. The translator adds the capital sign (⠠) before uppercase letters and the number sign (⠼) before digits, exactly as English Braille requires.
This makes it a practical tool for anyone working in English — a teacher preparing a worksheet, a parent labelling a child’s belongings, or a learner getting comfortable with the alphabet before moving on to contractions.
Why English gets its own page
You might wonder why there is a separate English-to-Braille page when a general text converter already exists. The reason is focus. English Braille has its own conventions worth understanding on their own terms, and grouping them in one place makes them easier to learn and to find.
Unlike many languages, written English uses no accented letters, so its Braille alphabet is the clean, universal set of twenty-six cells with nothing extra to memorize. What English does rely on heavily are the capital sign and the number sign, plus a rich system of contractions at the higher level. Starting here, in uncontracted Grade 1, gives you a solid, exact foundation: you can write any English word correctly, see precisely how capitals and numbers are marked, and build confidence before deciding whether to learn the contracted form for faster reading later on.
English Braille basics
English Braille in Grade 1 maps each of the 26 letters to one cell of six dots. Capitalization and numbers are shown with prefixes rather than separate letters:
- The capital sign (⠠) goes before a capital letter.
- The number sign (⠼) turns the following cells into digits 1–0 (which reuse the letters a–j).
The Braille alphabet
Grade 1 vs Grade 2 in English
English has two main levels. Grade 1 spells everything out, letter by letter — that is what this tool produces. Grade 2 adds nearly 200 contractions (single cells for common words and letter groups) to save space and speed up reading.
This translator deliberately stays in Grade 1 because it is exact and reversible. To understand contractions, read the Grade 2 guide.
From learning to embossing
Grade 1 English Braille is the ideal starting point. Once the alphabet feels familiar, most readers move toward Grade 2 for speed, but everything you produce here remains valid, readable Braille.
If your goal is to emboss the result — on a label maker, an embosser or a tactile sign — remember that on-screen dots show the characters, not the physical spacing standard. For anything official or permanent, have a qualified transcriber confirm the layout. For learning, crafts and digital sharing, the converted Braille is ready to use as is. You can also grab just the reference on the alphabet and numbers pages.
English to Braille examples
| Text | In Braille |
|---|---|
| English | ⠠⠑⠝⠛⠇⠊⠎⠓ |
| London | ⠠⠇⠕⠝⠙⠕⠝ |
| Thank you | ⠠⠞⠓⠁⠝⠅ ⠽⠕⠥ |
| See you at 8 | ⠠⠎⠑⠑ ⠽⠕⠥ ⠁⠞ ⠼⠓ |
| ABC | ⠠⠁⠠⠃⠠⠉ |
Each example uses the standard Braille alphabet, with the capital sign (⠠) and number sign (⠼) applied when needed.
Tips and more
Want just the chart? See the Braille alphabet and Braille numbers pages. To decode Braille back into English, use the Braille to text translator.
Frequently asked questions
How do I translate English to Braille?
Type your English text and the Braille appears instantly. Copy or download it when ready.
Does English Braille use accents?
No. Standard English uses the 26-letter alphabet, so there are no accented Braille cells.
How are capital letters shown?
With the capital sign (⠠) placed before the letter.
How are numbers written?
The number sign (⠼) comes first, then the digits, which share the cells of a–j.
Is this contracted (Grade 2) Braille?
No, it is Grade 1. See the Grade 2 page for contractions.