Numbers
The number 8 in braille
8 is the number sign followed by the letter h — dots 1, 2 and 5.
Number sign + h
Dots 3-4-5-6, then dots 1-2-5
Why it uses a letter
After a number sign the cell for h reads as 8; without one it is the letter h — see H in braille.
8 inside larger numbers
One number sign covers the whole run: 8, 18 and 800 each take one.
8
18
800
8 in everyday writing
| Written | In braille | What the cells do |
|---|---|---|
| 8 June | a space ends the number | |
| 8.5 | a decimal point does not — no second number sign | |
| 8cm | c is a digit letter, so it takes the letter sign — without it these cells read as “83m” | |
| 8kg | k is not a digit letter, so nothing extra is needed |
Braille numbers sets out the rule behind all four.
What is particular to 8
The same cell with no number sign
It is the letter h, and standing alone in a Grade 2 text it is the word “have”. So ⠼⠓ is 8, and ⠓ between two spaces is “have”.
8th
8th is ⠼⠓⠞⠓, with t and h as two separate cells. Elsewhere “th” is one cell, but a contraction may not follow a number (Rules of Unified English Braille 6.5.3).
One dot away, and mirrored
After the number sign, 8 is dots 1-2-5. Add one dot and it is 7 (dots 1-2-4-5). Take one away and it is 2 (dots 1-2) or 5 (dots 1-5). Mirrored left to right it becomes 0 (dots 2-4-5), which is the shape a slate writer punches for it.
8 in braille as an image
Both cells as a picture: the number sign, then the letter h at dots 1-2-5.
