About
Braille: frequently asked questions
Straight answers to the questions people actually ask, including the ones where the honest answer is “not reliably”.
Is braille the same in every language?
No. The six-dot cell is universal, but what each cell means changes by language. Dots 2-3-4-6 is the word “the” in English braille, the letter é in Spanish and the letter thal in Arabic — one cell, three answers. This site publishes five codes in full and keeps them apart: Unified English Braille, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic and Hindi, each measured against the reference implementation for its own language.
Can I just copy the braille output and print it?
You can copy it, but printing it on a normal printer produces flat ink shapes, not raised dots, so it cannot be read by touch. Physical braille needs an embosser, a braille writer, or a slate and stylus. Printed output is useful for sighted people learning the code.
What is the difference between Grade 1 and Grade 2?
Grade 1 gives every letter its own cell. Grade 2 replaces common words and letter groups with single cells to save space — a standalone b means 'but', and one cell covers 'ing'. Published books use Grade 2. The full comparison sets out when each is used.
Is the Grade 2 output here good enough to emboss?
Not without checking. This site covers all the alphabetic wordsigns and strong groupsigns, but not shortforms, initial-letter contractions or the context rules that depend on pronunciation. It is reliable for learning and checking your work in the translator. If it is going to be embossed for someone to rely on, have a qualified transcriber review it — what is and is not covered is listed in full.
Why do numbers look like letters?
Because they are the same cells. The number sign, dots 3-4-5-6, tells the reader that the letters that follow are digits: a becomes 1, b becomes 2, and so on up to j, which becomes 0.
Do I need to install a braille font?
No. The dots on this site are drawn as real page elements, and the copyable output from the translator uses standard Unicode braille characters that every modern system already renders. Nothing needs installing.
Does this site work with a screen reader?
Yes. Every braille cell carries a text description naming the raised dots, so a screen reader announces 'dots 1, 4 and 5' rather than skipping an image. All reference tables — the alphabet, numbers, punctuation and contractions — are real HTML tables with proper headers and work without JavaScript.