What ⢹ means
The numbers identify positions, not a sequence to read. 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 2, 3 and 7 are empty.
“Eight-dot” describes the eight available positions, not eight raised dots. Traditional six-dot Braille has three rows; this pattern uses the fourth-row position at bottom right. To translate it into text, you need the Braille code used by the surrounding passage.
Braille is writing you can read by touch
Braille represents writing with raised dots for blind readers. Louis Braille developed his system under the influence of Charles Barbier’s earlier raised-dot writing, publishing it in 1829 and refining it in 1837. There are conventions for text, music, mathematics and computing.
Eight-dot Braille became common on refreshable Braille displays during the 1980s and early 1990s. These devices raise and lower pins to present text by touch; the extra positions can also carry information about what is on screen.
Part of the collection
Questions people ask
1Why does ⢹ look different in different fonts?
Fonts can show empty positions as small circles or squares, or leave them invisible. Those guides are not extra raised dots: this pattern still has only five. A character on a flat screen is a visual representation, not tactile Braille.
More like this
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How to type or find ⢹
- Search it as
- Braille dots 14568 · Braille cell · eight-dot Braille · computer Braille
- Shows up in
- Anything that takes text · its shape is whatever your font draws
⢹\28B9Codes and encoding1 code points
A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.