International Council on English Braille (ICEB)
Unified Braille Code Research Project
Objective II: Extension of the Base Code
UBC Grade 1, Numeric and Assigned Shape Symbol List
As of: February 27, 2001
This list presents the basic symbols of UBC as defined for grade 1
and numeric mode, and all directly assigned shape symbols. Valid
single-cell UBC symbols that have no grade 1 assignment are also
included, and noted as not assigned. Grade 2 symbols (contractions),
and symbols defined only within special modes, such as within arrows,
described shapes, alignment mode, and horizontal line mode, are
generally not included. For listings of these, see the relevant
sections in the Committee II Report of March 1995, its
Supplementary Report of October 1999, and the report of the Joint
Session of Committees II and IV of February 2001.
In the following listing, relevant section numbers, given in
square brackets, refer to one of the defining reports. The plain
two-part section numbers, e.g. "3.5," refer to the March 1995 report
of Committee II. Section numbers of the form
"S1-..." refer to the Committee II Supplementary Report of October 1999.
"S2" refers to the report of the Joint Session of Committees II and IV
of February 2001.
The order is the customary one for braille characters, i.e. as
the characters would be read in the standard seven-line table.
Each entry begins with a two-cell "dot locator", dots 4-6,
1-2-3-4-5-6, which is there to assure that the position of the dots
is always clear when read in real braille; it is not part of the
symbol being listed. Sighted readers who do not see such a pattern
in simulated braille at the beginning of each line should download
and install the "SimBraille" font from the free downloads page of
Duxbury Systems' web site at
http://www.duxburysystems.com
.
If your browser can make use
of such fonts, you should then see the simulated braille properly.
Persons who are reading this list in real braille need to be sure that
their viewing device is set for "North American ASCII-Braille"; if some
other device code is in effect, some of the braille characters will be
incorrect.
- .= (no dots) space [2.6]
- .=a letter a [3.4] or (in numeric mode) digit 1 [3.5]
- .=b letter b [3.4] or (in numeric mode) digit 2 [3.5]
- .=c letter c [3.4] or (in numeric mode) digit 3 [3.5]
- .=d letter d [3.4] or (in numeric mode) digit 4 [3.5]
- .=e letter e [3.4] or (in numeric mode) digit 5 [3.5]
- .=f letter f [3.4] or (in numeric mode) digit 6 [3.5]
- .=g letter g [3.4] or (in numeric mode) digit 7 [3.5]
- .=h letter h [3.4] or (in numeric mode) digit 8 [3.5]
- .=i letter i [3.4] or (in numeric mode) digit 9 [3.5]
- .=j letter j [3.4] or (in numeric mode) digit 0 [3.5]
- .=k letter k [3.4]
- .=l letter l [3.4]
- .=m letter m [3.4]
- .=n letter n [3.4]
- .=o letter o [3.4]
- .=p letter p [3.4]
- .=q letter q [3.4]
- .=r letter r [3.4]
- .=s letter s [3.4]
- .=t letter t [3.4]
- .=u letter u [3.4]
- .=v letter v [3.4]
- .=x letter x [3.4]
- .=y letter y [3.4]
- .=z letter z [3.4]
- .=& superposition indicator [3.20]
- .== 1. (on a line by itself) cursor indicator [3.17]
- .== 2. horizontal juxtaposition indicator [3.20]
- .=( general fraction open [3.9]
- .=! integral sign [3.14]
- .=) general fraction close [3.9]
- .=* unassigned in grade 1
- .=< 1. when surrounded by spaces/other d'l segments, diagonal line segment [S1-3]
- .=< 2. when followed by nonspace, braille grouping open [3.8] [S1-3]
- .=% radical open [3.10]
- .=? unassigned in grade 1
- .=: bar over previous item (also can terminate shapes) [3.11] [3.19]
- .=$ shape indicator [3.19]
- .=$= circle [3.19]
- .=$#aa regular undecagon [3.19]
- .=$#ab regular dodecagon (etc. for all regular polygons) [3.19]
- .=$#aj regular decagon [3.19]
- .=$#c regular (equilateral) triangle [3.19]
- .=$#d square [3.19]
- .=$#e regular pentagon [3.19]
- .=$#f regular hexagon [3.19]
- .=$#g regular heptagon [3.19]
- .=$#h regular octagon [3.19]
- .=$#i regular nonagon [3.19]
- .=] vertical juxtaposition indicator [3.20]
- .=\ arrow indicator [3.12]
- .=[ physical enclosure indicator [3.20]
- .=w letter w [3.4]
- .=1 comma [3.4]
- .=2 semicolon [3.4]
- .=3 colon [3.4]
- .=4 period (full stop) or decimal [3.4]
- .=5 level change down (subscript) [3.8]
- .=6 exclamation mark [3.4]
- .=7 prime (when distinguished from apostrophe in print) [3.14]
- .=8 question mark, opening nonspecific (double/single) quote [3.4] [S1-4]
- .=9 level change up (superscript or exponent) [3.8]
- .=0 closing nonspecific (double/single) quote [3.4] [S1-4]
- .=/ simple numeric fraction (in numeric mode) [3.9]
- .=+ radical close [3.10]
- .=+ "visible space" [3.17]
- .=# unassigned in grade 1 when followed by space (otherwise, numeric prefix)
- .=#a digit 1 & set numeric & grade 1 word modes [3.5]
- .=#b digit 2 & set numeric & grade 1 word modes [3.5]
- .=#c digit 3 & set numeric & grade 1 word modes [3.5]
- .=#d digit 4 & set numeric & grade 1 word modes [3.5]
- .=#e digit 5 & set numeric & grade 1 word modes [3.5]
- .=#f digit 6 & set numeric & grade 1 word modes [3.5]
- .=#g digit 7 & set numeric & grade 1 word modes [3.5]
- .=#h digit 8 & set numeric & grade 1 word modes [3.5]
- .=#i digit 9 & set numeric & grade 1 word modes [3.5]
- .=#j digit 0 & set numeric & grade 1 word modes [3.5]
- .=#= infinity sign [3.16]
- .=#1 comma & set numeric & grade 1 word modes [3.5]
- .=#4 dot (decimal point) & set numeric & grade 1 word modes [3.5]
- .=> 1. when surrounded by spaces/other d'l segments, diagonal line segment [S1-3]
- .=> 2. when followed by nonspace, braille grouping close [3.8] [S1-3]
- .=' apostrophe, nondirectional single quote, "foot" or "minute" sign [3.4]
- .=- hyphen, minus when not distinguished from hyphen [3.4]
- .=@ when followed by space, end of sans serif passage indicator [3.6]
- .=@a at-sign [3.17]
- .=@c cent sign [3.25]
- .=@d partial derivative (curly d or delta) [3.14]
- .=@e Euro currency sign [S1-5]
- .=@f franc [3.25]
- .=@j null set (slashed zero) [3.13]
- .=@l British pound sign [3.25]
- .=@n Naira (Nigerian) currency sign [S1-5]
- .=@s dollar sign [3.25]
- .=@y yen sign [3.25]
- .=@& ampersand [3.4]
- .=@! closed line integral [3.14]
- .=@< less-than or opening angle bracket [3.7]
- .=@? "not" sign (line horizontal, then down at right) [3.13]
- .=@: line through previous item (cancellation, "not") [3.11]
- .=@$ transcriber-assigned shape indicator [3.19]
- .=@\ line sign [3.15] [S1-3]
- .=@1 sans serif word indicator [3.6]
- .=@2 sans serif symbol indicator [3.6]
- .=@5 caret [3.17]
- .=@6 or (upright v shape) [3.13]
- .=@7 sans serif passage indicator [3.6]
- .=@8 and (inverted v shape) [3.13]
- .=@9 tilde [3.17]
- .=@/ "since" (three dots in inverted pyramid) [3.13]
- .=@# when followed by space, end of first transcriber-defined passage [3.6]
- .=@#1 first transcriber-defined typeform word indicator [3.6]
- .=@#2 first transcriber-defined typeform symbol indicator [3.6]
- .=@#7 first transcriber-defined typeform passage indicator [3.6]
- .=@#' first transcriber-defined typeform terminator [3.6]
- .=@> greater-than or closing angle bracket [3.7]
- .=@' sans serif terminator [3.6]
- .=@^e reverse element (reverse variant epsilon) [3.13] [S1-5]
- .=@_< is a normal subgroup of (closed "less than") [3.16]
- .=@_$ transcriber-assigned filled (solid) shape indicator [3.19]
- .=@_3 reverse assertion ("T" lying on right side) [3.13]
- .=@_> inverse "is normal subgroup" (closed "greater than") [3.16]
- .=@.a ae diphthong (lowercase) [3.25]
- .=@.c copyright (circled c) [3.25]
- .=@.o oe diphthong (lowercase) [3.25]
- .=@.r registered trademark (circled r) [3.25]
- .=@.t registered trademark (circled tm) [3.25]
- .=@.$ transcriber-assigned shaded shape indicator [3.19]
- .=@,? dagger [3.25]
- .=@,] double dagger [3.25]
- .=^ 1. when surrounded by spaces/other v'l segments, vertical line segment [S1-3]
- .=^ 2. when only followed by space, end of boldface passage ind'r [3.6] [S1-3]
- .=^a "for all" (inverted A) [3.13]
- .=^d del, nabla (inverted capital delta) [3.14]
- .=^e is an element of (variant epsilon) [3.13] [S1-5]
- .=^j degree sign [3.25]
- .=^p paragraph symbol [3.25]
- .=^s section mark [3.25]
- .=^x female or "Venus" symbol [3.25]
- .=^y male or "Mars" symbol [3.25]
- .=^& cedilla under following letter symbol [3.21]
- .=^( non-UEBC word indicator [S2]
- .=^) non-UEBC word terminator [S2]
- .=^* grave over following letter symbol [3.21]
- .=^< contained in, is a subset of (U open to right) [3.13]
- .=^% circumflex over following letter symbol [3.21]
- .=^: simple right-pointing arrow over previous item [3.11]
- .=^$ circle above following letter symbol [3.21]
- .=^] tilde as in nyay over following letter symbol [3.21]
- .=^\ bold arrow indicator [3.12]
- .=^[ window [3.25]
- .=^1 boldface word indicator [3.6]
- .=^2 boldface symbol indicator [3.6]
- .=^3 dieresis/umlaut over following letter symbol [3.21]
- .=^4 dot over previous item [3.11]
- .=^5 "there exists" (reverse E) [3.13]
- .=^7 boldface passage indicator [3.6]
- .=^8 opening double quote [3.4]
- .=^9 double tilde (approximately equal) [3.16]
- .=^0 closing double quote [3.4]
- .=^/ acute over following letter symbol [3.21]
- .=^> contains, is a superset of (U open to left) [3.13]
- .=^' boldface terminator [3.6]
- .=^_3 "is valid" sign (assertion with double stem on "T") [3.13]
- .=_ 1. when surrounded by spaces/other v'l segments, vertical line segment [S1-3]
- .=_ 2. when only followed by space, end of underlined passage [3.6] [S1-3]
- .=_a reserved non-Roman letter (lowercase) [3.22]
- .=_b reserved non-Roman letter (lowercase) [3.22]
- .=_c reserved non-Roman letter (lowercase) [3.22]
- .=_d reserved non-Roman letter (lowercase) [3.22]
- .=_e reserved non-Roman letter (lowercase) [3.22]
- .=_f reserved non-Roman letter (lowercase) [3.22]
- .=_g reserved non-Roman letter (lowercase) [3.22]
- .=_h reserved non-Roman letter (lowercase) [3.22]
- .=_i reserved non-Roman letter (lowercase) [3.22]
- .=_j reserved non-Roman letter (lowercase) [3.22]
- .=_k reserved non-Roman letter (lowercase) [3.22]
- .=_l reserved non-Roman letter (lowercase) [3.22]
- .=_m reserved non-Roman letter (lowercase) [3.22]
- .=_n reserved non-Roman letter (lowercase) [3.22]
- .=_o reserved non-Roman letter (lowercase) [3.22]
- .=_p reserved non-Roman letter (lowercase) [3.22]
- .=_q reserved non-Roman letter (lowercase) [3.22]
- .=_r reserved non-Roman letter (lowercase) [3.22]
- .=_s reserved non-Roman letter (lowercase) [3.22]
- .=_t reserved non-Roman letter (lowercase) [3.22]
- .=_u reserved non-Roman letter (lowercase) [3.22]
- .=_v reserved non-Roman letter (lowercase) [3.22]
- .=_x reserved non-Roman letter (lowercase) [3.22]
- .=_y reserved non-Roman letter (lowercase) [3.22]
- .=_z reserved non-Roman letter (lowercase) [3.22]
- .=_= equivalent to (three horizontal lines) [3.13]
- .=_* backslash (opposite of the slash) [3.17]
- .=_< opening curly brace [3.4]
- .=_? crosshatch, pound or "number" [3.17]
- .=_: tilde over previous item [3.11]
- .=_$ filled (solid) shape indicator [3.19]
- .=_\ vertical line (unbroken) (not the ASCII symbol) [3.25]
- .=_w reserved non-Roman letter (lowercase) [3.22]
- .=_1 underlined word indicator [3.6]
- .=_2 underlined symbol indicator [3.6]
- .=_3 assertion ("is a theorem" sign; "T" lying on left side) [3.13]
- .=_4 bullet [3.25]
- .=_6 plus-or-minus (plus over minus) [3.7]
- .=_7 underlined passage indicator [3.6]
- .=_8 opening Italian quotes (small double angle brackets) [3.4]
- .=_9 tilde (swung dash) over straight line [3.16]
- .=_0 closing Italian quotes (small double angle brackets) [3.4]
- .=_/ slash (oblique stroke) [3.4]
- .=_> closing curly brace [3.4]
- .=_' underlining terminator [3.6]
- .=_- minus-or-plus (minus over plus) [3.7]
- .=_@< is less than or equal to [3.7]
- .=_@> is greater than or equal to [3.7]
- .=_^< contained in or equal to [3.13]
- .=_^> contains or equal to [3.13]
- .=__< is normal subgroup of or equal (closed "less than" with line under) [3.16]
- .=__7 enter alignment mode [S1-1]
- .=__> inverse "normal subgroup or equal" (closed "greater than" with line under) [3.16]
- .=__' exit alignment mode [S1-1]
- .=_"7 "varies as" sign [3.16]
- .=" (at end of line) continuation indicator [3.17]
- .="a separator space before digit 1 (in numeric mode) [3.5]
- .="b separator space before digit 2 (in numeric mode) [3.5]
- .="c separator space before digit 3 (in numeric mode) [3.5]
- .="d separator space before digit 4 (in numeric mode) [3.5]
- .="e separator space before digit 5 (in numeric mode) [3.5]
- .="f separator space before digit 6 (in numeric mode) [3.5]
- .="g separator space before digit 7 (in numeric mode) [3.5]
- .="h separator space before digit 8 (in numeric mode) [3.5]
- .="i separator space before digit 9 (in numeric mode) [3.5]
- .="j separator space before digit 0 (in numeric mode) [3.5]
- .="( commences opening non-UEBC passage indicator (terminated by dot 3) [S2]
- .="< opening round parenthesis [3.4]
- .="% radical without vinculum [3.10]
- .=": hat over previous item [3.11]
- .="3 enter horizontal line mode [S1-3]
- .="4 times (dot multiplication) [3.7]
- .="6 plus sign [3.7]
- .="7 equals sign [3.7]
- .="8 times (X) [3.7]
- .="9 asterisk [3.4]
- .="/ divided by (horizontal line between dots) [3.7]
- .="> closing round parenthesis [3.4]
- .="- minus (when distinguished from hyphen) [3.7]
- .="_9 tilde over equals sign [3.16]
- .="" (at end of line) continuation indicator with space [3.17]
- .=""= dot locator for "use" [S1-2]
- .=. when followed by space, end of italic passage indicator [3.6]
- .=.a Greek alpha (lowercase) [3.22]
- .=.b Greek beta (lowercase) [3.22]
- .=.d Greek delta (lowercase) [3.22]
- .=.e Greek epsilon (lowercase) [3.22]
- .=.f Greek phi (lowercase) [3.22]
- .=.g Greek gamma (lowercase) [3.22]
- .=.i Greek iota (lowercase) [3.22]
- .=.k Greek kappa (lowercase) [3.22]
- .=.l Greek lambda (lowercase) [3.22]
- .=.m Greek mu (lowercase) [3.22]
- .=.n Greek nu (lowercase) [3.22]
- .=.o Greek omicron (lowercase) [3.22]
- .=.p Greek pi (lowercase) [3.22]
- .=.r Greek rho (lowercase) [3.22]
- .=.s Greek sigma (lowercase) [3.22]
- .=.t Greek tau (lowercase) [3.22]
- .=.u Greek upsilon (lowercase) [3.22]
- .=.x Greek xi (lowercase) [3.22]
- .=.y Greek psi (lowercase) [3.22]
- .=.z Greek zeta (lowercase) [3.22]
- .=.& Greek chi (lowercase) [3.22]
- .=.= dot locator for "mention" [3.25] [S1-2]
- .=.* accent grave alone [3.17]
- .=.< opening square bracket ([) [3.4]
- .=.? Greek theta (lowercase) [3.22]
- .=.: Greek eta (lowercase) [3.22]
- .=.$ shaded shape indicator [3.19]
- .=.\ "pipe" (broken vertical bar) [3.17]
- .=.w Greek omega (lowercase) [3.22]
- .=.1 italic word indicator [3.6]
- .=.2 italic symbol indicator [3.6]
- .=.4 hollow dot (operator) [3.16]
- .=.5 subindex directly below [3.8]
- .=.6 union (upright U shape) [3.13]
- .=.7 italic passage indicator [3.6]
- .=.8 intersection (inverted U shape) [3.13]
- .=.9 superindex directly above [3.8]
- .=.0 percent sign [3.7]
- .=./ general fraction line [3.9]
- .=.> closing square bracket (]) [3.4]
- .=.' italic terminator [3.6]
- .=.- ASCII underscore character [3.17]
- .=.@< is much less than [3.16]
- .=.@> is much greater than [3.16]
- .=.^< contained in, but not equal to (proper subset) [3.13]
- .=.^> contains, but is not equal to (proper superset) [3.13]
- .=._< normal subgroup but not equal (closed "less than: with cancelled line under) [3.16]
- .=._3 reverse "is valid" sign [3.13]
- .=._> inverse "normal subgroup but not equal" (closed "greater than" with cancelled line under) [3.16]
- .=."7 equals sign dotted above & below (approximately equal) [3.16]
- .=; grade 1 symbol indicator, or grade 1 passage termination if before space [3.2]
- .=;' terminates grade 1 mode (2-symbol sequence) [3.2]
- .=;; grade 1 symbols-word indicator [3.2]
- .=;;; grade 1 passage indicator [3.2]
- .=, when followed by space, end of capitalized passage [3.3]
- .=,a capital letter A [3.4]
- .=,b capital letter B [3.4]
- .=,c capital letter C [3.4]
- .=,d capital letter D [3.4]
- .=,e capital letter E [3.4]
- .=,f capital letter F [3.4]
- .=,g capital letter G [3.4]
- .=,h capital letter H [3.4]
- .=,i capital letter I [3.4]
- .=,j capital letter J [3.4]
- .=,k capital letter K [3.4]
- .=,l capital letter L [3.4]
- .=,m capital letter M [3.4]
- .=,n capital letter N [3.4]
- .=,o capital letter O [3.4]
- .=,p capital letter P [3.4]
- .=,q capital letter Q [3.4]
- .=,r capital letter R [3.4]
- .=,s capital letter S [3.4]
- .=,t capital letter T [3.4]
- .=,u capital letter U [3.4]
- .=,v capital letter V [3.4]
- .=,x capital letter X [3.4]
- .=,y capital letter Y [3.4]
- .=,z capital letter Z [3.4]
- .=,* "therefore" (three dots in upright pyramid) [3.13]
- .=,< when surrounded by spaces/other d'l segments, diagonal line segment [S1-3]
- .=,: bar under previous item [3.11]
- .=,w capital letter W [3.4]
- .=,7 nondirectional double quote [3.4]
- .=,8 opening single quote [3.4]
- .=,0 closing single quote [3.4]
- .=,> when surrounded by spaces/other d'l segments, diagonal line segment [S1-3]
- .=,' capitals mode terminator and transcriber's note indicator [3.3] [3.25]
- .=,- dash [3.4]
- .=,^& cedilla under following capital letter symbol [3.21]
- .=,^* grave over following capital letter symbol [3.21]
- .=,^% circumflex over following capital letter symbol [3.21]
- .=,^: simple right-pointing arrow under previous item [3.11]
- .=,^$ circle above following capital letter symbol [3.21]
- .=,^] tilde as in nyay over following capital letter symbol [3.21]
- .=,^3 dieresis/umlaut over following capital letter symbol [3.21]
- .=,^4 dot under previous item [3.11]
- .=,^/ acute over following capital letter symbol [3.21]
- .=,_ when surrounded by spaces/other v'l segments, vertical line segment [S1-3]
- .=,_a capital reserved non-Roman letter [3.22]
- .=,_b capital reserved non-Roman letter [3.22]
- .=,_c capital reserved non-Roman letter [3.22]
- .=,_d capital reserved non-Roman letter [3.22]
- .=,_e capital reserved non-Roman letter [3.22]
- .=,_f capital reserved non-Roman letter [3.22]
- .=,_g capital reserved non-Roman letter [3.22]
- .=,_h capital reserved non-Roman letter [3.22]
- .=,_i capital reserved non-Roman letter [3.22]
- .=,_j capital reserved non-Roman letter [3.22]
- .=,_k capital reserved non-Roman letter [3.22]
- .=,_l capital reserved non-Roman letter [3.22]
- .=,_m capital reserved non-Roman letter [3.22]
- .=,_n capital reserved non-Roman letter [3.22]
- .=,_o capital reserved non-Roman letter [3.22]
- .=,_p capital reserved non-Roman letter [3.22]
- .=,_q capital reserved non-Roman letter [3.22]
- .=,_r capital reserved non-Roman letter [3.22]
- .=,_s capital reserved non-Roman letter [3.22]
- .=,_t capital reserved non-Roman letter [3.22]
- .=,_u capital reserved non-Roman letter [3.22]
- .=,_v capital reserved non-Roman letter [3.22]
- .=,_x capital reserved non-Roman letter [3.22]
- .=,_y capital reserved non-Roman letter [3.22]
- .=,_z capital reserved non-Roman letter [3.22]
- .=,_< "big" (multi-line) opening curly brace [3.15]
- .=,_: tilde under previous item [3.11]
- .=,_\ "big" (multi-line) vertical bar [3.15]
- .=,_w capital reserved non-Roman letter [3.22]
- .=,_> "big" (multi-line) closing curly brace [3.15]
- .=,") closing non-UEBC passage indicator [S2]
- .=,"< "big" (multi-line) opening round parenthesis [3.15]
- .=,": hat under previous item [3.11]
- .=,"> "big" (multi-line) closing round parenthesis [3.15]
- .=,.a capital Greek alpha [3.22]
- .=,.b capital Greek beta [3.22]
- .=,.d capital Greek delta [3.22]
- .=,.e capital Greek epsilon [3.22]
- .=,.f capital Greek phi [3.22]
- .=,.g capital Greek gamma [3.22]
- .=,.i capital Greek iota [3.22]
- .=,.k capital Greek kappa [3.22]
- .=,.l capital Greek lambda [3.22]
- .=,.m capital Greek mu [3.22]
- .=,.n capital Greek nu [3.22]
- .=,.o capital Greek omicron [3.22]
- .=,.p capital Greek pi [3.22]
- .=,.r capital Greek rho [3.22]
- .=,.s capital Greek sigma [3.22]
- .=,.t capital Greek tau [3.22]
- .=,.u capital Greek upsilon [3.22]
- .=,.x capital Greek xi [3.22]
- .=,.y capital Greek psi [3.22]
- .=,.z capital Greek zeta [3.22]
- .=,.& capital Greek chi [3.22]
- .=,.< "big" (multi-line) opening square bracket [3.15]
- .=,.? capital Greek theta [3.22]
- .=,.: capital Greek eta [3.22]
- .=,.w capital Greek omega [3.22]
- .=,.> "big" (multi-line) closing square bracket [3.15]
- .=,, capitalized letters-word indicator [3.3]
- .=,,, capitalized passage indicator [3.3]
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Page content last updated:
August 10, 2001