Braille reference chart
Braille encodes characters as patterns of raised dots in a six-position cell, read by touch. This reference shows the Grade 1 (uncontracted) English pattern for every letter, digit, and common punctuation mark, with each cell drawn and labelled by dot number.
The structure of a Braille cell
Every Braille character lives in a 2 by 3 cell. The positions are numbered down the left column as 1, 2, 3 and down the right column as 4, 5, 6:
dot 1 dot 4
dot 2 dot 5
dot 3 dot 6A character is defined by which of those six dots are raised — for example, A is just dot 1, B is dots 1 and 2, and C is dots 1 and 4. With six positions, there are 64 possible combinations (including the blank space), which is enough to cover the entire Latin alphabet plus digits, punctuation, and control symbols.
The alphabet and its inner logic
The Braille alphabet was designed with an elegant internal structure. The first ten letters (A through J) use only the top four dot positions (1, 2, 4, 5). The second row of ten letters (K through T) is identical to A through J but with dot 3 added to every pattern. The third group (U, V, X, Y, Z) adds dots 3 and 6 to the first-row patterns; W was added later as an exception because French, the language Louis Braille used, has no W.
This regularity means:
- A learner who knows the first row (A–J) essentially knows the entire alphabet — just add dots systematically.
- The dots 1–4 positions encode the “content” of a letter, while dots 3 and 6 indicate which “row” of the alphabet it falls in.
How numbers work
Numbers do not have their own cells. They reuse the patterns for letters A through J, but only after a number sign (dots 3, 4, 5, 6) tells the reader to switch to digit mode. The mapping is:
| Digit | Braille cell pattern |
|---|---|
| 1 | Same as A (dot 1) |
| 2 | Same as B (dots 1, 2) |
| 3 | Same as C (dots 1, 4) |
| 4 | Same as D (dots 1, 4, 5) |
| 5 | Same as E (dots 1, 5) |
| 6 | Same as F (dots 1, 2, 4) |
| 7 | Same as G (dots 1, 2, 4, 5) |
| 8 | Same as H (dots 1, 2, 5) |
| 9 | Same as I (dots 2, 4) |
| 0 | Same as J (dots 2, 4, 5) |
A capital sign (dot 6 alone) placed before a letter capitalises it. For an all-capitals word, the capital sign is doubled.
Grade 1 vs Grade 2 Braille
Grade 1 (uncontracted) is what this chart shows. Every word is spelled letter-by-letter. It is used for early Braille learners, short texts, labels, and signage.
Grade 2 (contracted) is the form used in most Braille books, periodicals, and educational materials. It adds about 180 contractions: some cells represent whole common words (and, the, for, of, with) and others represent common letter groups (ch, sh, th, wh, etc.). A trained reader uses Grade 2 almost exclusively because it reduces document length by around a third and significantly increases reading speed.
This reference chart covers Grade 1 only. Grade 2 contractions are not shown.
Tips and notes
- Filled circles in the grid are raised dots; outlined circles are flat
positions. The caption lists the raised dot numbers, such as
1-4-5for D. - The first ten letters (A–J) use only the top four dot positions (1, 2, 4, 5), which is why they double neatly as the digits 1–0.
- Braille is standardised internationally through Unified English Braille (UEB), adopted in English-speaking countries to provide a consistent set of rules for Grade 1 and Grade 2 across all types of text.