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• Method 1 of 1: Read Braille
• Tips

Reading Braille is a way of reading by feeling the text, rather than seeing it through the text. It is mainly done by blind people; but people who can see can also learn to read Braille. There are many reasons why someone learns to read Braille, especially for people living with someone who is blind or partially sighted. There are many types of Braille, such as for music, arithmetic, and various forms of literature. The most commonly used type is Level 2 Literary Braille. This is the one that is taught the most, and that is also the version covered in this article.

To step

Method 1 of 1: Read Braille

1. Learn the different positions of the 6 dots within the Braille cell. The individual cells have no meaning per se; the meaning depends on the type of Braille you are using. Still, it is important that you know where the dots and empty areas are if you want to learn to read Braille. Braille for people who can see sometimes has "shadow dots" "in the empty boxes; the Braille for the blind does not have that.
2. Learn the first 10 letters of the alphabet (A-J). Only the top 4 dots of the 6 in a cell are used for these letters.
3. Learn the next 10 letters (K-T). These are identical to the letters A to J, except that they have an extra dot in position 3.
4. Learn the cells for U, V, X, Y, and Z. These are the same as for A to E, except that they have an extra dot in positions 1, 3 and 6.
5. Learn the W, which does not follow a pattern. W falls outside the rest because Braille was originally written in French, which did not contain the letter W at the time.
6. Learn braille punctuation. Pay extra attention to Braille special symbols. These do not occur in plain written language. They are used to indicate capital letters and the formatting of the text, which cannot be traced back to regular braille cells.
7. Learn common word contractions.
8. Practice! Learning to read Braille is the same as learning to read an alphabet in another scripture. You won't get the hang of it right away, but it is certainly achievable.

Tips

• Search the Internet for exercises to progress in reading Braille.