What is Braille?

The Braille alphabet is used by people who are blind or partially sighted as a basis of the larger Braille code for reading and writing. Kids and adults who are blind read Braille by gliding their fingertips over the lines of embossed Braille dots. They write braille using a variety of tools, such as the Perkins Brailler.

I do not own a Perkins Brailler, so I use a slate and stylus to write my labels. 

People who are sighted can learn Braille as well, either by touch or using their vision. People who have dyslexia or other disabilities that affect what they are looking at and what their brain is interpreting can also benefit from reading by touch.

A proficient Braille reader a person can read between 170 and 220 words a minute.  A great place for everyone to begin learning Braille is with the Braille alphabet.

Learn How To Read Braille

The first thing to know is that Braille is a code and not a language itself. There are different “grades” and versions of Braille. The most basic is “grade one Braille”. Every letter is transcribed. For every letter in the English alphabet, there is a Braille character. And each Braille letter is made of a combination of raised dots in the Braille cell. A Braille cell is the basic component of Braille.

Lower-Case Vs. Upper-Case

These are all of the lower-case Braille letters in the English alphabet. To form a capital letter, you must place a dot 6 before the letter. There are also Braille characters for other punctuation and symbols. If all letters are capitalized, then two dot 6 will be before the word.

Braille Lower-Case Letters A-J

The Braille alphabet uses a pattern throughout the alphabet. The easiest letter to learn is “a”, which is dot 1. Next, the letter “b” is dot 1 and dot 2, and “c” is dot 1 and dot 4.

Here are the dot configurations for each letter written out:

Here is a photo of the dot configurations:

Braille Lower-Case Letters K-T

The second set of letters follows the pattern, only adding a dot 3 to each character in the first set of Braille letters.

Here are the dot configurations for each letter written out:

Here is a photo of the dot configurations:

Braille Lower-Case Letters U-Z

The last set of letters continues the pattern by adding a dot 6 to the second set of letters. However, there is one exception that interrupts the pattern here. At the time Louis Braille invented the first version of the Braille alphabet, the French language did not use the letter “w” so it was skipped. The Braille letter “w” is instead created by dots 2, 4, 5, 6.



Here are the dot configurations for each letter written out:

Here is a photo of the dot configurations:

Other Ways To Use Braille



Now, you’re probably wondering about Braille numbers, Braille music and even other languages in Braille. Braille numbers are like letters but have a special number sign character in front to tell readers that the characters that follow are intended to be numbers. There are also special codes for math and Braille music notation.

A Brief History Of Braille

Just imagine if everyone learned about Braille and used it wherever there is print! There’d be more access to the world for the people who read Braille and more opportunities for others to learn. Books, museums, stores, offices… Braille is yet to be included everywhere we need it.

Together, we can make the world more inclusive for Braille readers.

Want to learn more about how people living with disabilities do the things they do, and the tools and devices they use to live their most confident lives? Learn more about our Disability Awareness Programs & Training (aDAPT) program.