Note that there are less than 2^6 = 64 different Braille
symbols
available, because some symbols are too easily confused (consider
all the symbols, like
a, which consist of only a single dot -- the
prefix used to indicate
capital letters is the one least likely
to be confused with
a, but it only makes the other four more
likely to be confused). Because of this, the Braille system uses
prefix characters to indicate capital letters and numbers (using the
first ten letters as the digits). Also, each letter represents a
common word when used alone.
The Braille alphabet:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
a b c d e f g h i j
* . * . * * * * * . * * * * * . . * . *
. . * . . . . * . * * . * * * * * . * *
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
k l m n o p q r s t
* . * . * * * * * . * * * * * . . * . *
. . * . . . . * . * * . * * * * * . * *
* . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * .
u v x y z w capital number
* . * . * * * * * . . * . . . *
. . * . . . . * . * * * . . . *
* * * * * * * * * * . * . * * *
Source: Merriam-Webster's New International Dictionary, Second Edition and Merriam-Webster's Third New International Dictionary.
NI2 says other dot patterns are used for other common words and punctuation and partial words. If anybody has information on this, please add a writeup to this node.