Braille in Different Languages Worldwide (SV)
Braille adapts to 133+ languages. Learn how French, Spanish, Arabic, Hindi, Chinese, and Korean braille codes and rules work.
By Braille Translator Team
How Many Languages Use Braille? (SV)
Braille adapts to 133+ languages worldwide. Each language has its own braille code with unique rules for mapping dot patterns to characters, accents, punctuation, and contractions. Louis Braille invented the 6-dot cell system in 1824 for French, and linguists have since adapted braille for every major written language — including logographic scripts (Chinese, Japanese), abjads (Arabic, Hebrew), abugidas (Hindi, Tamil), and alphabetic scripts (English, French, German, Spanish).
The Braille Translator supports 20+ language tables through the LibLouis open-source translation library. Each language table encodes the specific dot assignments, contraction rules, and formatting conventions for that language’s braille code.
English Braille: Unified English Braille (UEB) (SV)
English braille uses the Unified English Braille (UEB) code, adopted in 2004 by the International Council on English Braille (ICEB) and implemented across 7 countries: the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Nigeria.
Grade 1 and Grade 2 (SV)
English braille has 2 grades:
- Grade 1 (uncontracted) — each letter, number, and punctuation mark maps to 1 braille cell; the word “the” uses 3 cells (⠞⠓⠑)
- Grade 2 (contracted) — 189 contractions shorten common words and letter combinations; the word “the” uses 1 cell (⠮)
Grade 2 reduces braille page volume by 20–30%. A Grade 1 braille book of 400 pages shrinks to approximately 280–320 pages in Grade 2. Standard braille publications, textbooks, and signage in English-speaking countries use Grade 2 by default.
Use the Text to Braille tool to convert English text into UEB Grade 1 or Grade 2 braille by selecting the corresponding English language table.
UEB Indicators (SV)
UEB uses indicator symbols to convey formatting that print text achieves through font changes:
| Indicator | Dot Pattern | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Capital letter | ⠠ (dot 6) | Capitalizes the next letter |
| Capital word | ⠠⠠ (dots 6, 6) | Capitalizes the entire following word |
| Number | ⠼ (dots 3-4-5-6) | Signals that following characters are digits |
| Grade 1 passage | ⠰⠰⠰ | Switches to uncontracted mode |
French Braille: Code Braille Français Unifié (SV)
French braille uses the Code Braille Français Unifié (CBFU), standardized in 2006 by the Commission Évolution du Braille Français. French braille extends the base 26-letter Latin alphabet with accented letter indicators for the 5 French accent types.
Accented Characters in French Braille (SV)
French has 13 accented vowels and 1 accented consonant (ç). French braille assigns dedicated dot patterns to each accented character rather than using a separate accent indicator:
| Character | Braille Dots | Print Letter |
|---|---|---|
| é (acute) | ⠿ (dots 1-2-3-4-5-6) | é |
| è (grave) | ⠮ (dots 2-3-4-6) | è |
| ê (circumflex) | ⠣ (dots 1-2-6) | ê |
| ë (diaeresis) | ⠫ (dots 1-2-4-6) | ë |
| ç (cedilla) | ⠯ (dots 1-2-3-4-6) | ç |
This approach gives each accented vowel a single-cell representation, which keeps French braille compact. The same dot pattern ⠮ that means “the” in English UEB Grade 2 represents “è” in French braille — a clear example of why selecting the correct language table matters.
French Grade 2 (SV)
French Grade 2 braille (abrégé) contains approximately 340 contractions, nearly double the 189 contractions in English UEB Grade 2. French Grade 2 reduces braille volume by 25–35%.
German Braille: Deutsche Blindenschrift (SV)
German braille follows the Deutsche Blindenschrift standard, maintained by the Brailleschriftkomitee der deutschsprachigen Länder (Braille Script Committee of German-speaking Countries). German braille serves 3 countries: Germany, Austria, and the German-speaking region of Switzerland.
Umlauts and Special Characters (SV)
German has 3 umlaut vowels (ä, ö, ü) and the ligature ß (Eszett). German braille represents each umlaut as a single cell:
| Character | Braille Dots | Description |
|---|---|---|
| ä | ⠜ (dots 3-4-5) | A-umlaut |
| ö | ⠪ (dots 2-4-6) | O-umlaut |
| ü | ⠳ (dots 1-2-5-6) | U-umlaut |
| ß | ⠮ (dots 2-3-4-6) | Eszett |
Compound Word Handling (SV)
German forms compound nouns by joining multiple words without spaces. The word “Handschuhfach” (glove compartment) combines “Handschuh” (glove) and “Fach” (compartment). German braille preserves compound words as single unbroken sequences, which creates long braille strings. German Grade 2 (Kurzschrift) uses approximately 300 contractions to reduce the length of these compound sequences.
Spanish Braille: Braille Español (SV)
Spanish braille follows the Braille Español standard established by the Comisión Braille Española (CBE) under the Organización Nacional de Ciegos Españoles (ONCE). Spanish braille serves 20+ Spanish-speaking countries.
Accented Vowels and the Ñ Character (SV)
Spanish has 5 accented vowels (á, é, í, ó, ú) and the unique consonant ñ. Spanish braille assigns individual cell patterns to each:
| Character | Braille Dots | Description |
|---|---|---|
| á | ⠷ (dots 1-2-3-5-6) | A-acute |
| é | ⠮ (dots 2-3-4-6) | E-acute |
| í | ⠌ (dots 3-4) | I-acute |
| ó | ⠬ (dots 3-4-6) | O-acute |
| ú | ⠾ (dots 2-3-4-5-6) | U-acute |
| ñ | ⠻ (dots 1-2-4-5-6) | Eñe |
Spanish Punctuation (SV)
Spanish uses inverted opening punctuation marks (¿ and ¡) that do not exist in English. Spanish braille represents ¿ and ¡ with dedicated dot patterns, placed before the sentence just as in print Spanish.
Arabic Braille: Right-to-Left Script, Left-to-Right Braille (SV)
Arabic braille is written and read left-to-right, opposite to printed Arabic which reads right-to-left. This reversal exists because braille is a tactile system read sequentially by finger movement, and left-to-right finger scanning proved more ergonomic during standardization.
Arabic Braille Grades (SV)
Arabic braille has 2 grades:
- Grade 1 (الدرجة الأولى) — each Arabic letter maps to 1 braille cell; the 28-letter Arabic alphabet uses 28 unique dot patterns
- Grade 2 (الدرجة الثانية) — contractions shorten common Arabic words and letter combinations
Arabic Script Features (SV)
Arabic script has 4 letter forms per character (isolated, initial, medial, final) depending on position in a word. Arabic braille ignores these positional forms — each Arabic letter uses 1 consistent dot pattern regardless of word position. The braille reader determines letter form from context, just as braille readers of any language reconstruct formatting from content.
Arabic diacritical marks (harakat) — fatha (َ), damma (ُ), kasra (ِ), sukun (ْ), and shadda (ّ) — each have dedicated braille cells placed after the base letter cell.
Chinese Braille: Phonetic Pinyin-Based System (SV)
Chinese braille uses a phonetic system based on Pinyin rather than representing Chinese characters (hanzi) directly. Since Chinese has over 50,000 characters, a character-based braille system would be impractical. The phonetic approach converts each Chinese syllable into a combination of braille cells.
3 Cells Per Syllable (SV)
Each Chinese syllable in Standard Chinese Braille (现行盲文) uses 3 braille cells:
- Initial cell — represents the consonant onset (21 initials in Mandarin, such as b, p, m, f)
- Final cell — represents the vowel nucleus and coda (38 finals in Mandarin, such as a, ai, an, ang)
- Tone cell — represents 1 of the 4 tones (plus neutral tone); placed as a superscript dot pattern
Example: The syllable “māo” (猫, cat) uses 3 cells — initial “m” + final “ao” + first tone marker.
Two-Cell Mandarin Braille (SV)
An alternative system, Two-Cell Chinese Braille (双拼盲文), compresses each syllable into 2 cells by encoding tone information within the initial or final cell. Two-Cell Mandarin Braille reduces page volume by approximately 33% compared to the 3-cell system.
Korean Braille: Hangul Structure (SV)
Korean braille follows the structure of Hangul, the Korean alphabet, by representing individual consonants (jamo) and vowels separately. Each Hangul syllable block (such as 한 = ㅎ+ㅏ+ㄴ) decomposes into its constituent jamo in braille.
Consonant-Vowel Representation (SV)
Korean braille assigns 1 braille cell to each jamo:
- 14 basic consonants (ㄱ, ㄴ, ㄷ, ㄹ, ㅁ, ㅂ, ㅅ, ㅇ, ㅈ, ㅊ, ㅋ, ㅌ, ㅍ, ㅎ)
- 10 basic vowels (ㅏ, ㅑ, ㅓ, ㅕ, ㅗ, ㅛ, ㅜ, ㅠ, ㅡ, ㅣ)
- 5 double consonants (ㄲ, ㄸ, ㅃ, ㅆ, ㅉ)
- 11 compound vowels (ㅐ, ㅒ, ㅔ, ㅖ, ㅘ, ㅙ, ㅚ, ㅝ, ㅞ, ㅟ, ㅢ)
The syllable 한 (han) is written in Korean braille as 3 cells: ㅎ + ㅏ + ㄴ. Korean braille abbreviations (약자) reduce common syllable patterns to fewer cells. Korean Grade 2 braille includes approximately 70 abbreviations.
Hindi Braille: Bharati Braille System (SV)
Hindi braille uses the Bharati Braille system, a unified braille code shared across 12 South Asian languages. Bharati Braille covers Hindi, Marathi, Nepali, Bengali, Assamese, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, and Telugu.
Shared Structure (SV)
Bharati Braille maps each Devanagari consonant and vowel to a braille cell. Hindi has 11 vowels (स्वर) and 33 consonants (व्यंजन), totaling 44 base characters. Bharati Braille uses the same dot patterns across all 12 supported languages for equivalent phonemes — the braille cell for the “ka” sound is identical whether reading Hindi, Bengali, or Tamil.
Vowel Signs (Matras) (SV)
Hindi uses vowel signs (matras) attached to consonants to modify the vowel sound. In print Hindi, matras appear as marks above, below, or beside the consonant. In Bharati Braille, each matra has a dedicated cell placed after the consonant cell.
Tamil Braille: Encoding for Tamil Script (SV)
Tamil braille encodes the 12 vowels, 18 consonants, and 216 consonant-vowel combinations of the Tamil script. Tamil braille follows the Bharati Braille framework but includes additional patterns specific to Tamil orthography.
Tamil-Specific Characters (SV)
Tamil script has unique characters not found in Hindi or other Devanagari-based scripts:
- ழ (zha) — a retroflex approximant unique to Tamil and Malayalam
- ற (ra) — an alveolar trill distinct from the regular ர (ra)
- ன (na) — an alveolar nasal distinct from the dental ந (na)
Each Tamil-specific character has a dedicated braille cell in the Tamil braille table. The Braille Translator includes a Tamil language table for accurate Tamil braille translation.
How Braille Translator Supports 20+ Languages Through LibLouis (SV)
The Braille Translator uses the LibLouis library, an open-source braille translation engine maintained by an international team of developers and braille experts. LibLouis contains braille tables for 20+ languages, with each table encoding:
- Character mappings — dot pattern assignments for every letter, digit, and punctuation mark
- Contraction rules — Grade 2 shorthand patterns where applicable
- Indicator rules — capital letter, number, and formatting indicators
- Special character handling — accents, diacriticals, and script-specific characters
Available Language Tables (SV)
| Language | Table Identifier | Grade(s) |
|---|---|---|
| English (UEB) | en-ueb-g1.ctb, en-ueb-g2.ctb | 1, 2 |
| French | fr-bfu-g1.ctb, fr-bfu-g2.ctb | 1, 2 |
| German | de-g0.utb, de-g1.ctb, de-g2.ctb | 0, 1, 2 |
| Spanish | es-g1.ctb, es-g2.ctb | 1, 2 |
| Arabic | ar-ar-g1.ctb, ar-ar-g2.ctb | 1, 2 |
| Chinese (Mandarin) | zh-chn.ctb | — |
| Korean | ko-g1.ctb, ko-g2.ctb | 1, 2 |
| Hindi | hi-in-g1.utb | 1 |
| Tamil | ta.ctb | 1 |
| Portuguese | pt-pt-g1.utb, pt-pt-g2.ctb | 1, 2 |
| Italian | it-it-g1.utb, it-it-g2.ctb | 1, 2 |
| Russian | ru.ctb | 1 |
| Japanese | ja-jp.utb | — |
How to Select a Language in the Tool (SV)
Selecting the correct language table in the Braille Translator follows 3 steps:
- Open the Text to Braille tool or Braille Translator
- Locate the language dropdown menu above the input area
- Select the target language and grade level from the dropdown list
The tool defaults to English UEB Grade 2. Change the selection to match the source or target language before translating. For bidirectional translation — converting braille back to text — the same language table must be selected to produce correct output.
Why Language Table Selection Matters (SV)
The same 6-dot braille cell produces 64 possible dot combinations (2^6 = 64, including the empty cell). With only 64 patterns available, every language reuses patterns with different meanings. Dot pattern ⠡ (dots 1-6) means:
- “ch” in English UEB
- “â” in French braille
- A different character in Arabic, Hindi, or Chinese braille
Selecting the wrong language table maps dot patterns to incorrect characters, producing garbled output. Always verify the source language before selecting a table.
Braille Is Not a Language — Braille Is a Writing System (SV)
A common misconception treats braille as a single universal language. Braille is a writing system, not a language. Braille encodes existing languages into a tactile format, just as the Latin alphabet, Cyrillic alphabet, and Arabic script encode spoken languages into visual formats.
A person who reads English braille reads English — not “braille.” A person who reads French braille reads French. The braille system provides the tactile encoding; the language provides the vocabulary, grammar, and meaning.
This distinction matters for translation: the Braille Translator converts between print text and braille encoding within a single language. The tool does not translate between languages (English to French). The tool translates between formats (print English to braille English, or print French to braille French).
Getting Started with Multilingual Braille Translation (SV)
Open the Braille Translator to convert text into braille for any of the 20+ supported languages. Select the target language table, type or paste text in the input field, and receive the braille output instantly. Use the Text to Braille tool for print-to-braille conversion. Use the Contraction Lookup tool to explore English UEB Grade 2 contractions. Use the Braille to Text tool to convert braille Unicode back into readable text.