Braille Translator (Unicode Grade 1)
Convert plain text to Unicode Braille cells and read Braille back, using uncontracted Grade 1 English with the number sign and capital sign handled for you.
What this tool does
Braille represents each character as a six-dot cell. This tool turns ordinary text into the Unicode characters in the Braille Patterns block, and turns those characters back into text. It handles the two conventions that trip people up: the number sign, which switches the letters a–j into the digits 1–0, and the capital sign, written before a letter because Braille has no separate capital forms.
It is written for teachers preparing a worksheet, developers testing a Braille display, and anyone who wants to see what a phrase looks like before it reaches a device. Because the output is the standard Unicode block rather than an image, you can copy it straight into software that speaks Braille, or inspect the exact dot patterns in a code editor. Every conversion is reversible, so decoding your own encoded text returns the original.
Method
In Unicode, a Braille cell is a single code point from U+2800 to U+28FF,
formed by adding the values of the raised dots: dot 1 is 1, dot 2 is 2, dot 3 is 4, dot 4 is 8,
dot 5 is 16 and dot 6 is 32. The letter a is dot 1 (U+2801), b is dots 1–2 (U+2803), and so on.
Encoding walks the input, emits the cell for each supported character, inserts a number sign
before a run of digits and a capital sign before an uppercase letter, and uses the blank cell
U+2800 for a space. Decoding reverses the lookup and interprets those two signs.
| Character | Dots | Unicode |
|---|---|---|
| a | 1 | U+2801 |
| b | 1–2 | U+2803 |
| c | 1–4 | U+2809 |
| 1 (a with number sign) | number sign + 1 | U+283C U+2801 |
| A (capital sign + a) | capital sign + 1 | U+2820 U+2801 |
| space | none | U+2800 |
Example
| Text | Braille cells |
|---|---|
| abc | ⠁⠃⠉ |
| Hello | ⠠⠓⠑⠇⠇⠕ |
| 123 | ⠼⠁⠃⠉ |
| Hi 5 | ⠠⠓⠊⠀⠼⠑ |
Frequently asked questions
What is Braille?
A tactile writing system in which each character is a rectangular cell of six raised dots, numbered in two columns of three. A pattern of raised dots represents one letter, digit or punctuation mark, and readers run a fingertip across the line.
Which Braille is this?
Unicode Braille Patterns — the range U+2800 to U+28FF — using uncontracted Grade 1 English. Each cell is a bitmask of the six dots, so what you get here is the exact Unicode character a screen reader or embosser expects.
Why is there a ⠼ before numbers?
In Braille the same dot patterns do double duty: a–j stand for the digits 1–0 when a number sign precedes them. The tool inserts that number sign automatically and removes it again when you decode.
How are capital letters shown?
Braille has no separate capital forms, so a capital sign ⠠ is written immediately before the letter. Decoding reads that sign and restores the capital.
Is this Grade 2 (contracted) Braille?
No. Grade 2 shortens common words and letter groups to save space, and its contractions are a large dictionary rather than a rule. This tool implements Grade 1, which is one cell per character and therefore reversible.
Will this emboss correctly?
The output is the correct Unicode characters, which any modern Braille display or embosser maps to the six dots. Whether a specific device shows it depends on its own table, but the codepoints themselves are standard.
Go deeper
Longer explanations of the problems this tool solves:
Sources
- Unicode Standard, Braille Patterns block (U+2800–U+28FF) and the dot-bitmask definition.
- The Grade 1 English alphabet and punctuation assignments, as used by standard Braille tables.
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