A standard braille cell consists of six dots arranged in three rows and two columns. Each dot can be specifically identified by its number as follows:
| Dot | Position | Row | Column |
| 1 | top-left | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | middle-left | 2 | 1 |
| 3 | bottom-left | 3 | 1 |
| 4 | top-right | 1 | 2 |
| 5 | middle-right | 2 | 2 |
| 6 | bottom-right | 3 | 2 |
Computer braille has introduced a fourth row at the bottom.
| Dot | Position | Row | Column |
| 7 | below-left | 4 | 1 |
| 8 | below-right | 4 | 2 |
A picture may make this numbering convention easier to understand:
1 o o 4 2 o o 5 3 o o 6 7 o o 8