How to Convert Text to Braille (2026)

You can convert any text to Braille instantly using brevio Braille Converter. Type or paste your text, choose between Grade 1 (uncontracted) and Grade 2 (contracted) Braille, and the Unicode Braille output appears live. Copy the result to paste into documents or use as a reference for embossing. Everything runs in your browser — nothing is sent to a server.

Braille is a tactile writing system used by people who are blind or have low vision. Each character is represented by a pattern of raised dots arranged in a 2-column by 3-row cell. The Unicode standard encodes all 64 possible Braille dot patterns as characters in the Braille Patterns block (U+2800–U+28FF), which means Braille can be typed, copied, and displayed on any modern device.

How to convert text to Braille

1. Open brevio Braille Converter. No account or installation required.
2. Type or paste your text into the input field. The Braille output updates live as you type.
3. Choose your Braille grade. Grade 1 maps every letter directly to a Braille cell. Grade 2 uses contractions — common words and letter sequences are replaced by shorter abbreviations — which is how Braille is most commonly written and read.
4. Review the output. Each Latin character maps to one Braille cell in Grade 1, or to a contraction in Grade 2.
5. Click "Copy" to copy the Unicode Braille output to your clipboard and paste it into any document or text field that supports Unicode.

How Braille dot patterns work

A standard Braille cell contains 6 dot positions arranged in two columns of three rows. Positions are numbered 1–6: dots 1, 2, 3 run top-to-bottom down the left column; dots 4, 5, 6 run top-to-bottom down the right. Each position is either raised or flat, giving 2⁶ = 64 possible patterns. The first ten letters (a–j) use only the top four dot positions. The next ten letters (k–t) add dot 3 to each of those patterns. The final group adds dot 6.

Numbers reuse the letter cells a–j (representing 1–9 and 0) preceded by a number indicator symbol (dots 3, 4, 5, 6 — ⠼). Capital letters are preceded by a capitalisation indicator cell (dot 6 — ⠠). A space between words is represented by an empty cell with no dots raised.

Grade 1 vs Grade 2 Braille

Grade 1 Braille (uncontracted) is a direct transliteration: every letter, number, and punctuation mark maps to its own cell. It is used for beginners learning Braille and for situations where precise spelling matters — proper names, technical content, or labelling.

Grade 2 Braille (contracted) is the standard for everyday reading and writing. It introduces around 180 contractions — single cells or short sequences that represent common words ("the", "and", "for", "of") or common letter combinations ("ing", "ed", "er"). A Grade 2 text is roughly 25% shorter than its Grade 1 equivalent, which matters for physical documents where embossing cost and page count are real constraints. Most Braille produced for general reading uses Grade 2.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use Unicode Braille output with a Braille embosser?

Unicode Braille is a display encoding, not an embosser command format. Most Braille embossers accept BRF (Braille Ready Format) or BRL files generated by dedicated software such as Duxbury or LibLouis. The Unicode output from the brevio Braille Converter is useful for screen display and documents; for physical embossing, run the Unicode output through LibLouis or your embosser's own import tool.

Does the converter handle numbers and punctuation?

Yes. Numbers are preceded automatically by the number indicator (⠼) and use the a–j letter cells for digits 1–9 and 0. Common punctuation marks map to their dedicated Braille cells as defined in the Unified English Braille standard. Capital letters receive the capitalisation indicator (⠠) before the letter cell.

Will the Braille characters display correctly everywhere?

The Unicode Braille Patterns block has been part of Unicode since version 3.0 and is supported on all modern operating systems and browsers. The visual rendering depends on the active font — some fonts render the raised-dot pattern more clearly than others — but the characters copy and paste correctly as text on any platform that supports Unicode.

Try it now with brevio Braille Converter — no signup, no upload, runs entirely in your browser.