Six dots, two by three
Braille Alphabet Reference
The six dot Braille cell and the raised dot patterns that spell the letters A to Z by touch.
At a glance
Key factsCell
Numbering
1 to 3 left, 4 to 6 right
Devised
By Louis Braille, 1824
Standard
Unified English Braille
Letters A to Z as raised dots
26 rows| Letter | Dots raised |
|---|---|
| A | 1 |
| B | 1, 2 |
| C | 1, 4 |
| D | 1, 4, 5 |
| E | 1, 5 |
| F | 1, 2, 4 |
| G | 1, 2, 4, 5 |
| H | 1, 2, 5 |
| I | 2, 4 |
| J | 2, 4, 5 |
| K | 1, 3 |
| L | 1, 2, 3 |
| M | 1, 3, 4 |
| N | 1, 3, 4, 5 |
| O | 1, 3, 5 |
| P | 1, 2, 3, 4 |
| Q | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 |
| R | 1, 2, 3, 5 |
| S | 2, 3, 4 |
| T | 2, 3, 4, 5 |
| U | 1, 3, 6 |
| V | 1, 2, 3, 6 |
| W | 2, 4, 5, 6 |
| X | 1, 3, 4, 6 |
| Y | 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 |
| Z | 1, 3, 5, 6 |
Where it comes from
Braille was devised by Louis Braille in 1824, while he was a teenage student at the Royal Institute for Blind Youth in Paris. He built on a military night writing system and reduced it to a compact cell of six dots that a fingertip can read in one touch. The system spread worldwide and, for English, is now standardized as Unified English Braille, maintained by the International Council on English Braille, so the same patterns are taught and printed consistently across countries.
How to use it
Every character sits in a cell of six dot positions, numbered 1 to 3 down the left column and 4 to 6 down the right. A pattern is written as the list of raised dots, so the letter C, which raises the top two dots, is dots 1 and 4. The first ten letters, A to J, use only the top four positions. The next ten, K to T, repeat those shapes with dot 3 added, and U, V, X, Y, Z add dot 6 as well (W is a later addition and breaks the pattern). Learning the first ten shapes therefore unlocks most of the alphabet.
This page is a standing reference at a fixed URL, built to be linked and cited. The data here is compiled from Unified English Braille, the standard maintained by the International Council on English Braille.