What is the difference between Grade 1 and Grade 2 Braille?

Grade 1 spells every word out cell by cell, which is what this decoder handles. Grade 2 adds hundreds of contractions where a single cell stands for a whole word or letter group, so it needs a dictionary-based translator.

Why do numbers decode as letters?

In Braille, digits reuse the cells for A–J and are introduced by a number sign (⠼). If that indicator is missing from your input, the cells legitimately read as letters.

Is this the same as printed Braille?

The cell patterns are identical. Printed Braille adds physical layout conventions — line length, page numbering — that don't apply to a plain text stream.

Braille Decoder

Decode Unicode Braille patterns into readable Latin text.

live · client-sideData, Radix & Stringfree · no sign-up

RAW INPUT

DECODED

Output appears here as you type — decoded on your device.

Input is processed on your device. Nothing you paste is sent anywhere.

What is the Braille Decoder?

A Braille decoder maps Unicode Braille pattern characters (U+2800–U+28FF), each representing a cell of up to six or eight raised dots, back to the letters, digits and punctuation they encode.

Braille represents characters as a cell of six dots (eight in computer Braille), numbered 1–6, where each dot is either raised or flat. Unicode gives every possible combination its own code point in the U+2800 block, so Braille text can be stored and transmitted like any other text — which is how it ends up in files, puzzles and web pages.

This decoder maps Grade 1 (uncontracted) Braille cells to their Latin equivalents, handling the number sign and capital indicator that change how the following cell is read. Grade 2 Braille, which uses contractions for whole words, is a different system and won't map one-to-one.

Braille Decoder at a glance

Unicode block: U+2800–U+28FF Braille Patterns
Cell: 6 dots (8 in computer Braille)
Combinations: 64 for 6-dot, 256 for 8-dot
Supported: Grade 1 (uncontracted) Latin Braille

How to use the Braille Decoder

1Paste the Unicode Braille characters into the input panel.
2Each cell is mapped to its letter, digit or punctuation mark.
3Read the Latin text and copy it out.

When you would reach for it

Decoding Braille characters found in a CTF challenge or online puzzle.
Checking what a Braille string in a document or dataset actually says.
Learning the six-dot cell patterns by comparing input and output side by side.

Braille Decoder — frequently asked questions

Last reviewed 25 July 2026 · questions or corrections: contact@decoder.tools