Text to Braille Converter

Translate English text into Grade 1 Unicode Braille characters instantly.

Text to Braille Converter

English to Braille in one click.
Type or paste your text into the "Input" field and the Braille appears in the "Braille Output" field.
Live mode updates the output as you type.

Load an example

Live mode (update as you type)

Upload a file

Input

0 characters

Braille Output

0 characters

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Settings

Output format

Unicode Braille

Dot numbers (1-6)

Unicode Braille outputs real Braille characters. Dot numbers shows each cell as its raised dots, such as 1 12 14, with / for a word space.

Capital letters

Single capital sign

Double sign for ALL-CAPS words

Single adds â before every capital letter. The UEB option uses two signs â â at the start of a fully capitalised word.

Ready to convert English text into Braille.

Overview

The Text to Braille Converter is a free online tool that translates English text into Grade 1 (uncontracted) Braille. It reads your text one character at a time and builds the correct Braille cell for each one: the letters a-z become their standard six-dot patterns, digits are marked with the number sign â ¼, capital letters are marked with the capital sign â , and common punctuation uses its usual pattern. The result is written with real characters from the Unicode Braille Patterns block, so it can be copied and pasted like any other text.

It is useful in several everyday situations: students and beginners can see exactly how a word is spelled in Braille and check it against the dot patterns they are learning, designers can preview how a sign, label or tactile graphic will read before anything is embossed, and anyone can turn a short message into a Braille version to share or to check an accessibility note. A second output style shows each cell as its dot numbers, which turns the tool into a quick Braille reference for anyone learning the code.

The tool was built with vanilla JavaScript on top of the Unicode standard itself. Grade 1 Braille uses the Braille Patterns block (U+2800-U+28FF), where each character is simply a six-dot cell: a cell's code point is U+2800 plus the bitmask of its raised dots. The letter, number and punctuation tables are stored in a shared mapping file that also powers the companion Braille to Text Converter, and every conversion happens locally in your browser - no text is uploaded, stored or logged anywhere.

How to Use the Tool

Step 1 - Enter your text: type or paste English text into the "Input" field, or click "Upload a file" to load a .txt file from your device. You can also click "Load an example" to fill the input with a ready-made phrase.

Step 2 - Pick an output style: leave "Unicode Braille" selected to get copyable Braille characters, or choose "Dot numbers (1-6)" to see each cell written out as its raised dots, which is easier to read while you are learning.

Step 3 - Choose a capital style: "Single capital sign" adds one â before each capital letter and works almost everywhere. "Double sign for ALL-CAPS words" uses the UEB convention of two signs at the start of a fully capitalised word such as NASA.

Step 4 - Convert: with Live mode switched on (the default), the output updates as you type. You can also press "Convert to Braille" at any time to run the conversion manually.

Step 5 - Use the result: click "Copy" to put the Braille on your clipboard or "Download" to save it as a text file. The message under the buttons reports how many cells were produced and whether any character had no Grade 1 pattern and was left unchanged.

Examples

Each example below loads its own text and settings - click "Try it" and the tool does the rest.

1. A greeting with a capital letter and punctuation

The first letter of each capitalised word gets a capital sign, and the comma and exclamation mark use their standard cells.

Input

Good morning, Portland!

Output

â  â ›â •â •â ™ â â •â —â â Šâ â ›â ‚ â  â â •â —â žâ ‡â â â ™â –

2. Numbers and a date separator

A number sign is added before each run of digits, and the letters a-j stand in for the digits 1-0. The slash in the date keeps the two number runs separate.

Input

Order 42 ships on 10/17.

Output

â  â •â —â ™â ‘â — â ¼â ™â ƒ â Žâ “â Šâ â Ž â •â  â ¼â â šâ Œâ ¼â â ›â ²

3. An all-caps word with the double capital sign

With "Double sign for ALL-CAPS words" selected, a fully capitalised word such as NASA gets two capital signs once, instead of one before every letter.

Input

NASA opened in 1958.

Output

â  â  â â â Žâ  â •â â ‘â â ‘â ™ â Šâ  â ¼â â Šâ ‘â “â ²

4. The dot-number view for learning

The "Dot numbers (1-6)" style writes out each cell, with a / marking a word space. It is a fast way to check a dot pattern without reading Braille by eye.

Input

hi there

Output

125 24 / 2345 125 15 1235 15

Features & Options

Grade 1 English Braille: every letter a-z is mapped to its standard six-dot pattern, and the mapping is applied one character at a time, so the output is exactly what a Grade 1 Braille reader would expect.

Number sign handling: each run of digits is preceded once by the number sign â ¼, after which the letters a-j represent 1-0. A decimal point or thousands comma between digits stays inside the number, so 3.5 reads as one number rather than two.

Capital signs: the default style adds a single capital sign â before every uppercase letter. The optional UEB style uses a double sign â â once at the start of an all-caps word.

Punctuation: a documented set of common marks - period, comma, question mark, exclamation mark, colon, semicolon, apostrophe, hyphen and slash - is translated to its standard pattern.

Dot-number output: the second output style writes each cell as its raised dots, numbered 1-6, with / for a space. It is aimed at learners, teachers and anyone double-checking a pattern.

Live mode: the output updates after every keystroke. Switch the toggle off if you prefer to press "Convert to Braille" yourself.

Load an example & Upload a file: "Load an example" fills the input with a sample phrase, and "Upload a file" reads a plain text file from your device into the input field.

Copy & Download: "Copy" puts the result on your clipboard and "Download" saves it as a text file. Character counters under both fields show the text length at all times.

How Braille and the Unicode Block Work

A Braille character, called a cell, is a rectangle of six possible dots arranged in two columns of three. The dots are numbered down the left column first and then down the right, so the layout reads:

1 4 2 5 3 6

Every letter is just a particular set of those dots raised. The letter a is dot 1 alone, b is dots 1 and 2, c is dots 1 and 4, and so on up to z. In Unicode, the whole alphabet lives in the Braille Patterns block at U+2800-U+28FF. A cell's code point is simply U+2800 + the bitmask of its raised dots, where dot 1 is worth 1, dot 2 is worth 2, dot 3 is worth 4, dot 4 is worth 8, dot 5 is worth 16 and dot 6 is worth 32. That is why the tool can build Braille from a small table of dot numbers without any special font.

Braille also needs a couple of signals to cover text that the twenty-six letters cannot express on their own. A number sign â ¼ (dots 3-4-5-6) tells the reader that the letters immediately after it are really the digits 1 to 0, so the number 42 is written â ¼â ™â ƒ. A capital sign â (dot 6) marks the next letter as uppercase; a second capital sign in a row means the whole following word is in capitals. These are the two signals this tool adds automatically.

It is worth knowing that Braille comes in two broad forms. Grade 1, used here, spells every word out letter by letter, which makes it easy to learn and exactly reversible. Grade 2 adds dozens of contractions and short forms to save space - it is what most printed Braille uses, but it is far more complex and is not produced by this tool.

The tables below list the complete Grade 1 mapping used by this converter. The capital sign â is placed before an uppercase letter, and the number sign â ¼ before a run of digits.

English letters

Lowercase	Braille	Dots	Uppercase	Braille (capital sign + letter)
a	â	1	A	â â
b	â ƒ	12	B	â â ƒ
c	â ‰	14	C	â â ‰
d	â ™	145	D	â â ™
e	â ‘	15	E	â â ‘
f	â ‹	124	F	â â ‹
g	â ›	1245	G	â â ›
h	â “	125	H	â â “
i	â Š	24	I	â â Š
j	â š	245	J	â â š
k	â …	13	K	â â …
l	â ‡	123	L	â â ‡
m	â	134	M	â â
n	â	1345	N	â â
o	â •	135	O	â â •
p	â	1234	P	â â
q	â Ÿ	12345	Q	â â Ÿ
r	â —	1235	R	â â —
s	â Ž	234	S	â â Ž
t	â ž	2345	T	â â ž
u	â ¥	136	U	â â ¥
v	â §	1236	V	â â §
w	â º	2456	W	â â º
x	â	1346	X	â â
y	â ½	13456	Y	â â ½
z	â µ	1356	Z	â â µ

Digits

Digit	Braille	Made of
1	â ¼â	number sign + a
2	â ¼â ƒ	number sign + b
3	â ¼â ‰	number sign + c
4	â ¼â ™	number sign + d
5	â ¼â ‘	number sign + e
6	â ¼â ‹	number sign + f
7	â ¼â ›	number sign + g
8	â ¼â “	number sign + h
9	â ¼â Š	number sign + i
0	â ¼â š	number sign + j

Common punctuation

Punctuation	Name	Braille	Dots
.	Period	â ²	2-5-6
,	Comma	â ‚	2
?	Question mark	â ¦	2-3-6
!	Exclamation mark	â –	2-3-5
:	Colon	â ’	2-5
;	Semicolon	â †	2-3
'	Apostrophe	â „	3
-	Hyphen	â ¤	3-6
/	Slash	â Œ	3-4

Supported Characters and Punctuation

Letters: the full lowercase alphabet a-z, each mapped to its Grade 1 cell.

Capitals: uppercase letters A-Z, marked with the capital sign (or the double sign for all-caps words).

Digits: 0-9, written with a number sign followed by the letters a-j.

Punctuation: . , ? ! ; : ' - / - period, comma, question mark, exclamation mark, semicolon, colon, apostrophe, hyphen and slash.

Spacing: spaces and line breaks are preserved, so a multi-line message keeps its shape.

Anything else: characters outside this set - accented letters, symbols, emoji, parentheses and quotation marks - are left exactly as they are, because their Braille patterns differ between Braille codes. Nothing is silently dropped, and the result message counts how many characters were passed through.

Use Cases

Learning the alphabet: type a word and switch between the Braille and dot-number views to see how each cell is built. It is a quick reference for students, teachers and anyone practising the code.

Accessibility checks: turn a label, button caption or short instruction into Braille to confirm the wording is clear and fits the space before it is embossed or printed.

Signs, labels and tactile designs: preview how a room number, product name or greeting will read so the final Braille matches the printed text beside it.

Creative and decorative text: the dotted texture of Braille makes an unusual heading, watermark or hidden message that still copies and pastes as ordinary text.

Portable notes: save a Braille or dot-number version of a phrase to share, document a pattern, or keep as a cheat sheet for later.

Good to Know

Grade 1 only: this tool produces uncontracted Braille. It does not apply Grade 2 contractions, so a long text may take more cells than professionally embossed Braille would.

English only: the mapping is for English Braille. Other languages assign different patterns to accented letters and symbols, which is why those characters are passed through unchanged.

Punctuation is a curated set: only the common marks listed above are translated. Quotes and brackets vary between Braille codes and are deliberately left untouched rather than guessed at.

It is a text translation, not a Braille image: the output is Unicode text for copying, checking and sharing. Actual embossing or printing needs a Braille-capable printer or embosser and the appropriate software.

Reverse conversion is separate: to turn Braille characters back into English, use the companion Braille to Text Converter, which reuses the same mapping data.

FAQs

FAQ 1: Is the Text to Braille Converter free and private?
Answer: Yes. It is completely free, with no sign-up or login, and the conversion runs entirely in your browser. The text you type is never uploaded, stored or logged on any server.

FAQ 2: What is the difference between Grade 1 and Grade 2 Braille?
Answer: Grade 1, which this tool produces, spells every word out letter by letter using the basic alphabet, number sign and capital sign. Grade 2 adds contractions and short forms to save space and is what most printed Braille uses. Grade 1 is simpler and exactly reversible, which makes it ideal for learning and checking.

FAQ 3: How are numbers and capital letters handled?
Answer: Numbers are written with the number sign â ¼ once before each run of digits, after which the letters a-j stand for 1-0. Capitals use the capital sign â before each uppercase letter, or two signs at the start of an all-caps word if you choose the UEB capital style.

FAQ 4: Why are some characters left unchanged in the output?
Answer: Only letters, digits, spaces and the listed punctuation have a fixed Grade 1 pattern here. Accented letters, symbols, emoji, quotes and brackets are kept as they are rather than converted incorrectly. The message under the buttons tells you how many characters were passed through.

FAQ 5: What is the "Dot numbers" output for?
Answer: It writes each cell as the numbers of its raised dots, for example 125 for the letter h, and uses / for a word space. It is a learning aid that lets you verify a pattern without reading Braille visually, and it is handy when documenting Braille in plain text.

FAQ 6: Does the output work in every app?
Answer: The output is standard Unicode text, so it copies and pastes anywhere text is accepted and renders on any device with the Braille Patterns block - which includes all modern operating systems. The exact dot size depends on the font, just as it does for other characters.

FAQ 7: Can I convert Braille back to English with this tool?
Answer: Not with this page - it converts English to Braille only. A companion Braille to Text Converter handles the reverse direction and shares the same character mapping, so the two tools stay consistent.

FAQ 8: Can I upload a whole document?
Answer: You can upload a plain .txt file and the whole file is converted in one pass. For very large documents the browser may take a moment, but there is no size limit imposed by the tool itself.