BrailleChart

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What is this cell?

Braille the other way round. Tap the dots you can feel or see, and this says what the cell is — every letter, word, contraction, punctuation mark and prefix it can be, because most cells are more than one.

Dots 1, 2 and 3 run down the left of the cell; 4, 5 and 6 run down the right.

No dots chosen yet.

All sixty-three cells

Six dots make 63 cells plus the blank one, which is the space. All 63 have a job in this site's tables, though dot 4 on its own only opens the two-cell signs @, $ and &. Ordered by dot number, not by letter, so you can find a cell you cannot yet name.

Every braille cell by dot number, in each of the five codes this site publishes
CellDotsUnified English BrailleSpanishPortugueseArabicHindi
1the letter a; the digit 1 after a number signthe letter athe letter a, and the mark ªthe letter اthe letter अ, and the independent-vowel sign
2the letters ea between two letters; the commathe mark ,the mark ,the fatha, a short aavagraha, and the mark ,
3the apostrophethe marks . and ' (and 1 other sharing the cell)the marks . and ' (and 1 other sharing the cell)the letter ءcandrabindu
4the opening cell of the two-cell signs @, $ and &no reading of its own — see its alphabetno reading of its own — see its alphabetno reading of its own — see its alphabetthe halant
5the opening cell of 22 initial-letter contractionsthe mark @no reading of its own — see its alphabetthe mark ،the nukta
6the capital letter sign; the capital word sign, written twiceno reading of its own — see its alphabetno reading of its own — see its alphabetthe shadda, which doubles the letter it precedesvisarga
1-2the letter b; the word “but” standing alone; the digit 2 after a number signthe letter bthe letter bthe letter بthe letter ब
1-3the letter k; the word “knowledge” standing alonethe letter kthe letter kthe letter كthe letter क
1-4the letter c; the word “can” standing alone; the digit 3 after a number signthe letter cthe letter cno reading of its own — see its alphabetthe letter च
1-5the letter e; the word “every” standing alone; the digit 5 after a number signthe letter ethe letter ethe kasra, a short ithe letter ए, and the matra for ए
1-6the letters ch inside a word, and the word “child” aloneno reading of its own — see its alphabetthe letter âthe letter ةthe letter छ
2-3the letters bb between two letters; the prefix be- at the start of a word; the word “be” standing alone; the semicolonthe mark ;the mark ;the tanween faththe mark ;
2-4the letter i; the digit 9 after a number signthe letter ithe letter ithe letter يthe letter इ, and the matra for इ
2-5the letters cc between two letters; the prefix con- at the start of a word; the colonthe mark :the mark :the sukun, marking no vowelthe letter ञ, and the mark :
2-6the letters en inside a word; the word “enough” standing alonethe marks ? and ¿the mark ?the tanween dammno reading of its own — see its alphabet
3-4the letters st inside a word, and the word “still” alonethe letter íthe letter íthe letter أthe letter ऐ, and the matra for ऐ, and the slash inside a number
3-5the letters in inside a word; the word “in” standing alonethe mark *the mark *the tanween kasrthe letter ई, and the matra for ई
3-6the hyphenthe marks - and –the marks - and –no reading of its own — see its alphabetthe mark -
4-5the opening cell of 5 initial-letter contractionsno reading of its own — see its alphabetno reading of its own — see its alphabetno reading of its own — see its alphabetthe letter भ
4-6the opening cell of 5 final-letter contractionsthe capital signthe capital signthe letter إthe letter ख, and the decimal point inside a number
5-6the letter sign; the grade 1 symbol; the opening cell of 7 final-letter contractionsno reading of its own — see its alphabetthe mark $the letter signanusvara
1-2-3the letter l; the word “like” standing alonethe letter lthe letter lthe letter لthe letter ल
1-2-4the letter f; the word “from” standing alone; the digit 6 after a number signthe letter fthe letter fthe letter فthe letter फ
1-2-5the letter h; the word “have” standing alone; the digit 8 after a number signthe letter hthe letter hthe letter هthe letter ह
1-2-6the letters gh inside a wordthe mark (the letter êthe letter غthe letter घ
1-3-4the letter m; the word “more” standing alonethe letter mthe letter mthe letter مthe letter म
1-3-5the letter othe letter othe letter o, and the mark ºthe letter ىthe letter ओ, and the matra for ओ
1-3-6the letter u; the word “us” standing alonethe letter uthe letter uthe damma, a short uthe letter उ, and the matra for उ
1-4-5the letter d; the word “do” standing alone; the digit 4 after a number signthe letter dthe letter dthe letter دthe letter द
1-4-6the letters sh inside a word, and the word “shall” aloneno reading of its own — see its alphabetno reading of its own — see its alphabetthe letter شthe letter श
1-5-6the letters wh inside a word, and the word “which” aloneno reading of its own — see its alphabetthe mark @the letter حthe conjunct ज्ञ
2-3-4the letter s; the word “so” standing alonethe letter sthe letter sthe letter سthe letter स
2-3-5the letters ff between two letters; the exclamation markthe marks ! and ¡ (and 1 other sharing the cell)the marks ! and +the mark !the mark !
2-3-6the word “his” standing alone; the question mark; opening double quotethe marks « and » (and 3 others sharing the cell)the marks " and “ (and 1 other sharing the cell)the marks ؟ and (the marks ? and “
2-4-5the letter j; the word “just” standing alone; the digit 0 after a number signthe letter jthe letter jthe letter جthe letter ज
2-4-6the letters ow inside a wordno reading of its own — see its alphabetthe letter õno reading of its own — see its alphabetthe letter औ, and the matra for औ
2-5-6the prefix dis- at the start of a word; the full stop / periodno reading of its own — see its alphabetno reading of its own — see its alphabetthe marks ۔ and .the marks । and .
3-4-5the letters ar inside a wordthe mark )the letter ãthe letter آthe letter आ, and the matra for आ
3-4-6the letters ing inside a wordthe letter óthe letter óno reading of its own — see its alphabetthe letter ङ
3-5-6the word “was” standing alone; closing double quoteno reading of its own — see its alphabetno reading of its own — see its alphabetthe mark )the letter झ, and the mark ”
4-5-6the opening cell of 6 initial-letter contractionsno reading of its own — see its alphabetno reading of its own — see its alphabetno reading of its own — see its alphabetthe letter ळ
1-2-3-4the letter p; the word “people” standing alonethe letter pthe letter pno reading of its own — see its alphabetthe letter प
1-2-3-5the letter r; the word “rather” standing alonethe letter rthe letter rthe letter رthe letter र
1-2-3-6the letter v; the word “very” standing alonethe letter vthe letter vthe lam-alif ligature لاthe letter व
1-2-4-5the letter g; the word “go” standing alone; the digit 7 after a number signthe letter gthe letter gno reading of its own — see its alphabetthe letter ग
1-2-4-6the letters ed inside a wordno reading of its own — see its alphabetthe letter àthe letter ضthe letter ड
1-2-5-6the letters ou inside a word, and the word “out” alonethe letter üthe letter üthe letter ؤthe letter ऊ, and the matra for ऊ
1-3-4-5the letter n; the word “not” standing alonethe letter nthe letter nthe letter نthe letter न
1-3-4-6the letter x; the word “it” standing alonethe letter xthe letter xthe letter خthe letter ऑ, and the matra for ऑ
1-3-5-6the letter z; the word “as” standing alonethe letter zthe letter zthe letter زno reading of its own — see its alphabet
1-4-5-6the letters th inside a word, and the word “this” aloneno reading of its own — see its alphabetthe letter ôthe letter ثthe letter थ
2-3-4-5the letter t; the word “that” standing alonethe letter tthe letter tthe letter تthe letter त
2-3-4-6the letters the inside a word, and the word “the” alonethe letter éno reading of its own — see its alphabetthe letter ذthe letter ध
2-3-5-6the letters gg between two letters; the word “were” standing alonethe mark =the mark =the marks " and “ (and 1 other sharing the cell)the marks ( and )
2-4-5-6the letter w; the word “will” standing alonethe letter wthe letter wthe letter وthe letter ठ
3-4-5-6the number signthe number signthe number signthe number signthe letter ण, and the number sign
1-2-3-4-5the letter q; the word “quite” standing alonethe letter qthe letter qthe letter قthe conjunct क्ष
1-2-3-4-6the letters and inside a word, and the word “and” aloneno reading of its own — see its alphabetthe letter çthe letter صthe letter ष
1-2-3-5-6the letters of inside a word, and the word “of” alonethe letter á, and the mark [the letter áthe letter عno reading of its own — see its alphabet
1-2-4-5-6the letters er inside a wordthe letter ñno reading of its own — see its alphabetno reading of its own — see its alphabetthe letter ड़
1-3-4-5-6the letter y; the word “you” standing alonethe letter ythe letter ythe letter ئthe letter य
2-3-4-5-6the letters with inside a word, and the word “with” alonethe letter ú, and the mark ]the letter úthe letter طthe letter ट
1-2-3-4-5-6the letters for inside a word, and the word “for” aloneno reading of its own — see its alphabetthe letter éthe letter ظthe letter ढ

Reading dot numbers

A braille cell is six dot positions in two columns of three. The left column is numbered 1, 2, 3 from the top; the right column is 4, 5, 6. A cell is named by listing the positions that are raised, so dots 1-2-5 means the top and middle of the left column and the middle of the right.

The numbering is the same everywhere — it is how braille is written down in print, how embossing software is driven, and how one reader describes a cell to another. It is not a code to decipher; it is just a way of saying which of the six bumps are there.

What the numbering cannot tell you is what the cell means, because most cells mean several things at once and position in the word decides which. That is what the pages behind this table are for.

Braille to text

Paste whole braille characters, or type dot numbers, and read a passage back.

Printable chart

The same information the other way round: start from the letter.

Practice

Drill the cells until you recognise them whole instead of counting dots.

Questions and answers

How do braille dot numbers work?

A braille cell is six dot positions in two columns of three. Dots 1, 2 and 3 run down the left column; dots 4, 5 and 6 run down the right. Naming the raised positions describes the cell exactly.

How many braille cells are there?

Sixty-three, plus the blank cell which is the space.

Can one braille cell mean more than one thing?

Yes. Most cells mean several things at once, and which reading applies is decided by where the cell sits rather than by the cell itself.