W in braille
How the cell is built
A braille cell has six positions: dots 1, 2 and 3 down the left side, dots 4, 5 and 6 down the right. W belongs to the odd one out: w is j with dot 6 added, because the French alphabet Louis Braille worked from had no w. Written on its own the letter is lowercase; the capital sign (dot 6) in front makes it a capital, so W is ⠠⠺.
What W means in contracted braille
In Grade 2 (contracted) braille, the single cell ⠺ standing alone is not the letter but the word will. To write the letter by itself, the grade 1 indicator (dots 5-6) goes in front: ⠰⠺.
W in a word
| Grade 1 | Grade 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| water | ⠺⠁⠞⠑⠗ | ⠺⠁⠞⠻ |
| ww | ⠺⠺ | ⠺⠺ |
The word water is 5 letters in print. In Grade 1 it is 5 cells; in Grade 2, 4.
W in other languages
Most languages keep the same cell, but not all: Czech writes ⠷.
Where to go next
The full set of letters, punctuation and symbols is on the braille alphabet chart, the rules for numbers are on the braille numbers page, and whole words and sentences can be converted in the braille translator.