Braille pattern dots 1-3-4-6-8

The numbers identify positions, not a sequence to read aloud.

An eight-dot cell has two columns of four positions. Viewed from the reading side, the left column is numbered 1, 2, 3, 7 from top to bottom; the right is 4, 5, 6, 8. In ⢭, positions 1, 3, 4, 6 and 8 are filled; 2, 5 and 7 are empty.

Unicode stores this arrangement. To turn it into a letter or another written sign, you need the relevant Braille code—the rules assigning meanings to dot patterns.

Why does Braille have six or eight dots?

Eight dots allow more patterns within a single cell.

Braille is writing read by touch, using raised dots. In 1821, Charles Barbier introduced his 12-dot night-writing system at a Paris school for blind students. Louis Braille adapted the idea into a six-dot system for reading and writing.

Eight-dot Braille extends the cell with two bottom positions, 7 and 8, and is used in computer Braille. Six positions allow 64 patterns; eight allow 256, counting the blank cell in each case.