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Unified English Braille · Words in braille

Thank you in braille

In braille, “thank you” is 8 cells, with a blank cell between the words: ⠞⠓⠁⠝⠅⠀⠽⠕⠥. Contracted braille (Grade 2), the form most books and signs in English use, shortens it to 5 cells: ⠹⠁⠝⠅⠀⠽.

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The cells are Unicode braille, so you can copy them: ⠞⠓⠁⠝⠅⠀⠽⠕⠥ (Grade 1) or ⠹⠁⠝⠅⠀⠽ (Grade 2). To write another word, use the braille translator.

Thank you, letter by letter

One cell per letter, the dots numbered 1, 2 and 3 down the left column and 4, 5 and 6 down the right.

Thank you in Grade 1 braille, letter by letter.
Letter Braille Dots Where the dots are
t ⠞ 2-3-4-5 middle left, bottom left, top right and middle right
h ⠓ 1-2-5 top left, middle left and middle right
a ⠁ 1 top left
n ⠝ 1-3-4-5 top left, bottom left, top right and middle right
k ⠅ 1-3 top left and bottom left
space ⠀ none a blank cell between the words
y ⠽ 1-3-4-5-6 top left, bottom left, top right, middle right and bottom right
o ⠕ 1-3-5 top left, bottom left and middle right
u ⠥ 1-3-6 top left, bottom left and bottom right

The letters h and a stay in the top two rows of the cell, like every letter from a to j; the letters t, n, k, y, o and u reach the bottom row, with dot 3 or dot 6. No letter repeats, so every cell in thank you is different. The fullest cell is y, with five dots, and the whole phrase has 25 raised dots in Grade 1.

Each letter has its own page in the braille alphabet: T, H, A, N, K, Y, O, U.

Thank you in Grade 2 braille

In Grade 2, thank you is ⠹⠁⠝⠅⠀⠽: 5 cells instead of 8. These are the parts that change, as liblouis, the braille engine our translator runs, writes them:

Contractions in thank you, Grade 2.
Print Grade 2 Dots What it is
th (in thank) ⠹ 1-4-5-6 Groupsign: one cell for a group of letters
you ⠽ 1-3-4-5-6 Alphabetic wordsign: a letter standing alone for a whole word

Everything else is spelled letter by letter. For comparison, Grade 1 is ⠞⠓⠁⠝⠅⠀⠽⠕⠥: 2-3-4-5, 1-2-5, 1, 1-3-4-5, 1-3, blank, 1-3-4-5-6, 1-3-5, 1-3-6.

Do not shorten a word to its first letter. In Grade 2, t written alone means “that”, so a lone letter would be read as that word.

Grade 1 is easier to check against a chart; Grade 2 is the form most books and signs in English use. More in braille contractions.

Thank you with capital letters

Braille has no separate capital letters. The capital indicator, dot 6 (⠠), goes in front of a capital letter, and two of them (⠠⠠) put a whole word in capitals; in this phrase each word takes its own.

Thank you with and without capitals.
Print Grade 1 Grade 2
Lower case: thank you ⠞⠓⠁⠝⠅⠀⠽⠕⠥ ⠹⠁⠝⠅⠀⠽
Each word capitalized: Thank You ⠠⠞⠓⠁⠝⠅⠀⠠⠽⠕⠥ ⠠⠹⠁⠝⠅⠀⠠⠽
All capitals: THANK YOU ⠠⠠⠞⠓⠁⠝⠅⠀⠠⠠⠽⠕⠥ ⠠⠠⠹⠁⠝⠅⠀⠠⠠⠽

Where to use thank you in braille

Thank you in braille is a thoughtful touch on a card for a teacher, a braille transcriber or a volunteer, or on the tag of a present. In Grade 2 it is 5 cells instead of 8: the th of thank is one cell, ⠹ (dots 1-4-5-6) and you is the letter y on its own, ⠽.

Thanks, the short form, uses the same th contraction: ⠹⠁⠝⠅⠎. Thank you very much is ⠹⠁⠝⠅⠀⠽⠀⠧⠀⠍⠡ in Grade 2, 8 cells instead of 16; the braille translator shows the cells for any message.

For someone who reads Spanish, the word is gracias, written letter by letter: Gracias en braille.

Frequently asked questions

How do you write thank you in braille?

Thank you is 8 cells, with a blank cell between the words: ⠞⠓⠁⠝⠅⠀⠽⠕⠥ (2-3-4-5, 1-2-5, 1, 1-3-4-5, 1-3, blank, 1-3-4-5-6, 1-3-5, 1-3-6). In Grade 1 each letter takes one six-dot cell.

Is thank you different in Grade 2 braille?

Yes. In Grade 2 it is ⠹⠁⠝⠅⠀⠽, 5 cells instead of 8: the th of thank is one cell, ⠹ (dots 1-4-5-6) and you is the letter y on its own, ⠽.

How do you write Thank You with capital letters in braille?

Put the capital indicator, dot 6 (⠠), in front of each word: ⠠⠞⠓⠁⠝⠅⠀⠠⠽⠕⠥ (Grade 2: ⠠⠹⠁⠝⠅⠀⠠⠽). In all capitals, each word takes two capital indicators: ⠠⠠⠞⠓⠁⠝⠅⠀⠠⠠⠽⠕⠥.

How many dots does thank you have in braille?

25 raised dots in Grade 1, spread over 8 cells; Grade 2 uses 16 dots in 5 cells.

Why is “you” just one letter in braille?

In Grade 2, most letters of the alphabet also stand for a whole word when they are written alone. The letter y alone is you, so thank you ends with ⠽. In Grade 1, you is spelled out: ⠽⠕⠥.

From “thank you” to reading

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