How braille works
Braille is a tactile writing system used by people who are blind or visually impaired. Each character is represented by a combination of up to six raised dots arranged in two columns of three.
The six dots are numbered: dot 1 (top left), dot 2 (middle left), dot 3 (bottom left), dot 4 (top right), dot 5 (middle right), dot 6 (bottom right). Different combinations create different characters.
For example, the letter "A" is dot 1 only. The letter "B" is dots 1 and 2. The letter "C" is dots 1 and 4. Learning these patterns is the first step to reading braille.
Getting started with the alphabet
The braille alphabet chart at braille.tools/braille-alphabet shows all 26 letters, 10 numbers and common punctuation with their dot patterns.
Start by learning the first 10 letters (A-J). These use only the top four dots (1, 2, 4, 5). Letters K-T add dot 3 to the A-J patterns. Letters U-Z add dot 6.
Numbers use the same patterns as A-J but are preceded by the number sign (dots 3456). So "1" is number sign + A pattern, "2" is number sign + B pattern, and so on.
Practice exercises for beginners
Exercise 1: Use the text-to-braille translator to convert your name to braille. Copy the result and try to identify each letter by its dot pattern.
Exercise 2: Convert simple words like "cat", "dog", "hello" to braille. Practice reading them cell by cell using the alphabet chart as a reference.
Exercise 3: Use the homework checker to verify your own braille transcription. Type English text, convert it to braille manually, then check your work.
Exercise 4: Practice reading braille output from the translator. Start with Grade 1 where each letter is explicit, then try Grade 2 once you are comfortable.
Moving from Grade 1 to Grade 2
Once you are comfortable reading Grade 1 braille letter by letter, you can start learning Grade 2 contractions. Grade 2 shortens common words and letter groups.
Start with the most common whole-word contractions: "the" (dots 2346), "and" (dots 12346), "for" (dots 12345), "of" (dots 1235). These appear frequently in English text.
The grade-2-braille-translator page shows common contractions with their dot patterns. Practice translating simple sentences and comparing Grade 1 and Grade 2 output.