Braille (Unicode patterns) — Six-dot cells, one per letter, here in their Unicode form.
Unicode braille cells U+2800..U+28FF, grade 1 letter assignments.
A worked example§
Encrypting a sample with the cipher itself, at build time:
MEET ME BY THE OLD CLOCK TOWER AT DAWN
No key — the transformation is fixed.
produces the ciphertext
⠍⠑⠑⠞⠀⠍⠑⠀⠃⠽⠀⠞⠓⠑⠀⠕⠇⠙⠀⠉⠇⠕⠉⠅⠀⠞⠕⠺⠑⠗⠀⠁⠞⠀⠙⠁⠺⠝
This example is generated by running the cipher when the page is built, and the round trip is checked, so it always matches what the solver does.
How it is broken§
A reading system, not a cipher — but puzzles use it as a layer.
History and context§
Louis Braille, 1824, aged fifteen, adapting a military night-writing system that Charles Barbier had designed so soldiers could read dispatches without a lamp.
See also§
Morse code · Bacon cipher · Bacon (letter case) · A1Z26 (numbered alphabet) · Polybius square · Tap code
Browse every cipher in the Codes and alphabets family, read the history of codebreaking, or return to the wiki main page.
Frequently asked questions§
How is the Braille (Unicode patterns) broken?
A reading system, not a cipher — but puzzles use it as a layer.
What key does the Braille (Unicode patterns) use?
none. There are 1 possible keys.
How much ciphertext do I need?
At least 4 characters for this solver to attempt it; short messages can be readable and still not be proof.
Can I break a Braille (Unicode patterns) on this page?
Not with the browser build, which targets the common puzzle families. The desktop version searches it: see the Windows app page.