Provided herein are DNA-glycan conjugates that include a glycan and a covalently attached polynucleotide. The polynucleotide includes a plurality of modules. Each module includes a nucleotide string, and the plurality of modules includes a monomer module that corresponds to each carbohydrate monomer present in the DNA-glycan conjugate, and a linkage module that corresponds to each glycosidic linkage present between each carbohydrate monomer in the DNA-glycan conjugate. The nucleotide sequence of the plurality of modules corresponds to the glycan structure. Also provided herein are methods for making and using the DNA-glycan conjugates. Further provided is a computer-implemented method for translating data from a nucleotide sequence to a glycan structure, a system for converting data from a glycan structure to a nucleotide sequence, and a system for translating data from a nucleotide sequence to a glycan structure.