Braille a Day

The name Maria in braille

⠠⠍⠁⠗⠊⠁5 lettersUncontracted

To write the name Maria in braille, put the capital sign (dot 6) before the M, then write the letters M-A-R-I-A one cell each: ⠠⠍⠁⠗⠊⠁.

Now read one yourself

⠠⠎⠁⠍

Which word is this? Ava, Sam, Luna.

Cell by cell

  1. Capitaldot 6
  2. 1. Mdots 1-3-4
  3. 2. Adot 1
  4. 3. Rdots 1-2-3-5
  5. 4. Idots 2-4
  6. 5. Adot 1

Capitals

Braille letters are lower case unless marked. A name takes the capital sign, dot 6, before its first letter (⠠⠍⠁⠗⠊⠁). In all capitals, MARIA, two capital signs mark the whole word: ⠠⠠⠍⠁⠗⠊⠁. More on capital letters in braille.

Grade 1 and Grade 2

This is uncontracted (Grade 1) braille, every letter written out, which is where learners start. Books, signs and labels mostly use Grade 2, where common letter groups and words take a single cell, so some words come out shorter there. See the Grade 2 contractions.

Remember it, don't just look it up

A name is spelled letter by letter, so the alphabet is what to learn. Braille a Day brings it back tomorrow to answer from memory, then again just before you'd forget. Five minutes a day.

Practise reading Letters A–JPractise writing

More names in braille