Learning center
Everything you need to know to learn braille
Eight topics, every guide in its place. Pick where to start.
In short. Learning braille means three goals: understanding the code of the six-dot cell, writing it, and reading it with your fingers. Here are Braillito’s guides, alphabet chart, practice sheets and tools, in that order. How long each step takes: how long it takes to learn braille.
Three ways in
Getting started
Where to begin, how long it takes and which mistakes to avoid.
Alphabet and cell
The six-dot cell and every letter, from A to Z.
Numbers and symbols
Digits, punctuation, symbols and the codes for math and music.
Writing and tools
With a slate, a Perkins, a phone or a keyboard.
- Braille translator, English to braille and back Tool
- How to write braille: slate, stylus and Perkins
- Braille slate and stylus: types and how to write
- Perkins brailler: the braille typewriter, with prices
- Braille keyboard: how to type in braille anywhere
- Braille font: how to type braille characters
- Braille printer: what it is, its uses and prices
- Refreshable braille display: how it works and what it costs
Practice
Exercises with answers, words, a decoder and games.
Other languages and grades
Grade 2, UEB and the braille of other languages.
Teachers and families
Teaching braille to a child and adapting the classroom.
History and context
Who invented it, why it is celebrated and what the data say.
Glossary
Braille glossaryCell, dot, slate, Perkins, contraction: 45 braille terms, each defined in a few lines, with its guide.
Open the glossaryFrequently asked questions
Do you have to be blind to learn braille?
No. Sighted people learn it, and so do people who lose their sight as adults; the starting point changes, the code does not. More in learning braille as a sighted person.
Is braille a language?
No: it is a tactile code for reading and writing. What is written in braille is English, Spanish or any other language. More in what is braille.
Where do I start?
With the cell and the first ten letters, a to j, which only use the top four dots. Step by step, in how to learn braille.
Do I need to learn grade 2 braille?
To read books and signs in English, yes, sooner or later: they use grade 2, with the 180 contractions of Unified English Braille. It comes after the alphabet in grade 1, the most frequent contractions first. All of them, in grade 2 braille contractions.
Are the tools on this site free?
Yes: the translator, the alphabet chart, the words, the practice sheets and the printables can be used without an account and without paying. The Braillito app is paid. If it is your first subscription, the monthly and 3-month plans can start with a 3-day free trial.
Learn braille
A guide is for reading. Braille is learned with your fingers.
59 lessons in 8 worlds to go from recognizing the letters to reading them without thinking.
The app is a subscription. If it is your first subscription, the monthly and 3-month plans can start with a 3-day free trial. The tools on this website are free.
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