⠘

⠘ U+2818, ⠘ BRAILLE PATTERN DOTS-45 ← ⠗ [U+2817] Braille Patterns ⠙ → [U+2819]

Translingual

A character of the braille script, originally used as a symbol prefix. Some alphabets use it for a variant of b because it is a reflection of the braille letter ⠃ b.

Etymology

More information

Invented by Louis Braille, braille cells were arranged in numerical order and assigned to the letters of the French alphabet. Most braille alphabets follow this assignment for the 26 letters of the basic Latin alphabet or, in non-Latin scripts, for the transliterations of those letters. In such alphabets, the first ten braille letters (the first decade: ⠁⠃⠉⠙⠑⠋⠛⠓⠊⠚) are assigned to the Latin letters A to J and to the digits 1 to 9 and 0. (Apart from '2', the even digits all have three dots: ⠃⠙⠋⠓⠚.)

The letters of the first decade are those cells with at least one dot in the top row and at least one in the left column, but none in the bottom row. The next decade repeat the pattern with the addition of a dot at the lower left, the third decade with two dots in the bottom row, and the fourth with a dot on the bottom right. The fifth decade is like the first, but shifted downward one row. The first decade is supplemented by the two characters with dots in the right column and none in the bottom row, and that supplement is propagated to the other decades using the generation rules above. Finally, there are four characters with no dots in the top two rows. Many languages that use braille letters beyond the 26 of the basic Latin alphabet follow an approximation of the English or French values for additional letters.

Symbol

⠘

1. (Dutch Braille) marks a word in all caps
2. (Czech Braille) Indicates a (lower-case) Greek letter
3. (IPA Braille) Marks the brackets that demarcate a passage in IPA:

   ⠘⠌ /, ⠘⠷ [, ⠘⠾ ]

4. (music) 2nd octave.

Letter

⠘

1. (Hungarian Braille) ä

Non-Latin transliteration

1. (Bharati Braille) भ (bha)
2. (Tibetan Braille) superscript ར (ra) [see ⠗]
3. (Burmese Braille) ဖ (pha)
4. (Cantonese Braille) The rime aan

See also

Braille script navigation

• Braille eight-dot extensions from ⟨⠘⟩:    ⡘   ⢘   ⣘

English

Symbol

⠘

1. A logogram prefix for the following words:

   ⠘⠮ these, ⠘⠹ those, ⠘⠥ upon, ⠘⠱ whose, ⠘⠺ word

2. A punctuation prefix found in:

   ⠘⠉ ©, ⠘⠗ ®, ⠘⠞ ™

3. (meter) Marks a short or unstressed syllable

Usage notes

• Metrical use has been abolished in Unified English Braille.

French

Prefix

⠘

1. currency prefix:

   ⠘⠽ ¥, ⠘⠑ €, ⠘⠎ $, ⠘⠇ £

2. marks Greek letters, for example:

   ⠘⠍ μ, ⠘⠏ π

3. prefix for some other mathematical symbols:

   ⠘⠣ ≤, ⠘⠜ ≥.

4. used in comic strips:

   ⠘⠻ (speech bubble), ⠘⠳ (thought bubble)

See also

⠐ (basic symbol prefix)

Contraction

⠘

1. The letter sequence bl.
2. The letter sequence -able.

Usage notes

• The sequence bl may appear anywhere in its word, as long as it is followed by at least one other letter. At the end of a word it is read -able.

Korean

Letter

⠘ • (b-)

1. Syllable-intial ㅂ (b).

Coordinate terms

• Syllable-final ⠃.

Contraction

⠘ • (ba)

1. The syllable or syllable onset 바 (ba).

Mandarin

Symbol

⠘

1. (Two-Cell Braille) parenthetical; used to spell out omitted words or syllables

Letter

⠘

1. (Taiwan Braille) The rime yuan/-üan

Braille script navigation

• Braille eight-dot extensions from ⟨⠘⟩:    ⡘   ⢘   ⣘