UEB reference guide
NLS will begin producing books and magazines in the new Unified English Braille (UEB) in
2016. UEB has eliminated nine contractions, changed some spacing rules, and adopted some new
symbols. While we don’t expect braille readers to encounter much difficulty with the new braille
code, we are providing this list of frequently used new symbols for your reference. Only symbols
that are new in UEB are included on this list.
The symbols on this list are shown in categories. Each isolated symbol is shown preceded by the
dot locator (.=). The following line then provides a brief example of the symbol being used.
Punctuation
()
open and close parentheses
Example:
(new)
.="< .=">
"<new">
[]
open and close brackets
Example:
[new]
.=.< .=.>
‘’
open and close inner quote
Example:
“our ‘new’ inner quotes”
.=,8 .=,0
…
ellipsis
Example:
new … new…
.=444
{}
open and close braces
Example:
{new}
.<new.>
8our ,8new,0 9n] quotes0
new 444 new444
.=_< .=_>
_<new_>
<>
open and close angle brackets
Example:
<new>
.=@< .=@>
—
Dash
Example:
— new —new
.=,-
Miscellaneous symbols
*
asterisk
Example:
new*
@
at sign
Example:
@<new@>
,- new ,-new
.="9
new"9
.=@a
[email protected]
nls@aloc4gov
~
tilde
Example:
[email protected]
.=@9
\
backslash
Example:
c:\my books
.=_*
_
underscore
Example:
new_data.xls
.=.-
•
bullet
Example:
• New
• Newer
.=_4
◦
new@9@aloc4gov
c3_*my books
new.-data4xls
_4 new
_4 new]
degrees
Example:
32◦F
.=^j
%
percent
Example:
100%
.=.0
#cb^j,f
#ajj.0
Braille indicators
(Note: In print examples, material that appears in grade 1 braille or as a transcriber’s note is
indicated by the use of sans serif font.)
grade 1 single letter
.=;
Example:
go to room g
g to room ;g
grade 1 word
Example:
again
.=;;
grade 1 passage begin and terminate
Example:
Al and Bob are new.
.=;;; .=;'
capitalized passage begin and terminate
Example:
NEW, NEWER, AND NEWEST
.=,,, .=,'
;;again
;;;,al and ,bob;' >e new4
,,,new1 new]1 & newe/,'
transcriber’s note begin and terminate
Example:
new symbols are listed after
the dot locator
.=@.< .=@.>
line continuation indicator
Example:
www.loc.gov/nls/
reference
.="
Emphasis indicators
boldface single letter
Example:
Socrates
@.<new symbols >e li/$ af
! dot locator@.>
www4loc4gov _/nls_/"
ref];e
.=^2
^2,socrates
boldface word
Example:
Aristotle
.=^1
boldface passage begin and terminate
Example:
Old Greek Philosophers
.=^7 .=^'
italics single letter
Example:
Socrates
.=.2
italics word
Example:
Aristotle
.=.1
italics passage begin and terminate
Example:
Old Greek Philosophers
.=.7 .=.'
underline single letter
Example:
Socrates
.=_2
underline word
Example:
Aristotle
.=_1
underline passage begin and terminate
Example:
Old Greek Philosophers
.=_7 .=_'
^1,>i/otle
^7,old ,greek ,philosoph]s^'
.2,socrates
.1,>i/otle
.7,old ,greek ,philosoph]s.'
_2,socrates
_1,>i/otle
_7,old ,greek ,philosoph]s_'
Currency
.
Decimal
Example:
99.9
$
Dollar symbol
Example:
$4.95
Math
+
plus
Example:
2+3
.=4
#i#i4#i
.=@s
@s#d4#i#e
.="6
#b"6#c
minus
Example:
5-3
.="-
x
times
Example:
2x3
.="8
÷
divided by
Example:
6÷2
.="/
=
equals
Example:
2+3 = 5
.="7
<
less than
Example:
2<3
.=@<
>
greater than
Example:
3>2
.=@>
#e"-#c
#b"8#c
#f"/#b
#b"6#c "7 #e
#b @< #c
#c @> #b