How do I learn to read Braille?

Start by learning the decade system: the first 10 letters (A-J) use only the top four dots. The next 10 letters (K-T) add dot 3 to the same patterns. Letters U-Z add dots 3 and 6. Practice with simple words first, then progress to sentences with capital and number indicators.

Why was W added differently in Braille?

Louis Braille designed his system for French, which did not use the letter W at the time. When W was later needed for other languages (particularly English), it received a unique pattern (dots 2,4,5,6) that does not follow the decade system used by the other letters.

Braille Examples & Interactive Tutorials

Learn Braille with step-by-step examples, visual dot-matrix displays, and the history of Louis Braille. Practice encoding text and understanding the systematic decade-based organization of Braille characters.

Basic Encoding: HELLO

See how each letter is converted to a Braille cell

hello

⠓⠑⠇⠇⠕

Step-by-Step Breakdown

dots:(1,2,5)

⠓

dots:(1,5)

⠑

dots:(1,2,3)

⠇

dots:(1,2,3)

⠇

dots:(1,3,5)

⠕

Final Result

⠓⠑⠇⠇⠕

1. What letter has only dot 1 raised?

2. Convert "cat" to Braille Unicode

3. How are numbers represented in Braille?