Braille Translator
Type any text and see it as Unicode braille — instantly, in your browser.
Grade 1 (uncontracted) braille — each letter is spelled out one cell at a time.
Turn text into Unicode braille
Type or paste any English text and this tool converts it, character by character, into Unicode braille patterns (the dot cells in the U+2800–U+28FF range). Each lowercase letter maps to a single braille cell. A capital letter is written with a capital indicator (⠠) in front of it, and a run of digits is introduced by the number sign (⠼) with the digits 1–9 and 0 reusing the cells for the letters a–j. Common punctuation — period, comma, semicolon, colon, question mark, exclamation mark, apostrophe and hyphen — is included too.
This is uncontracted braille, also called Grade 1, where every letter is spelled out one cell at a time with no shortcuts. It is the simplest form of braille and the easiest to learn or proofread. Because the output is real Unicode text, you can copy it and paste it into a document, a message, or a design — anywhere that renders the braille block. Everything runs locally in your browser, so nothing you type is uploaded or stored.
FAQ
What is the difference between Grade 1 and Grade 2 braille? Grade 1 (uncontracted) spells out every letter individually, while Grade 2 uses contractions and shorthand for common words and letter groups. This tool produces Grade 1.
Will this produce a physical braille document? No. It outputs Unicode braille characters for on-screen use. Embossing a tactile document requires a braille embosser and formatting software.
How are capital letters and numbers handled? A capital letter is preceded by the capital indicator (⠠). Numbers are preceded by the number sign (⠼), after which the digits 1–9 and 0 are written using the braille cells for a–j.
Can I translate braille back into text? This tool only converts text to braille. The Unicode output is plain text you can copy anywhere that displays braille characters.