EU to US shoe size conversion chart, with a print friendly version

EU sizing is the least forgiving of the three main systems to convert, because it is built on a unit that does not divide evenly into anything the US or UK scales use.

This guide gives you the full tables, explains why EU numbers rarely land on a clean US size, and ends with a compact chart designed to be printed and kept with your measuring tape.

Quick Summary

EU shoe sizes step by two thirds of a centimetre, which is about 6.7mm. US sizes step by about 8.5mm. The two scales therefore drift against each other as you move up the range, which is why one EU size sometimes maps to a US whole size and sometimes to a half, and why brands disagree more on EU conversions than on any other pair.

• EU steps are smaller than US steps. About 6.7mm against about 8.5mm.
• The mismatch accumulates, so conversions drift at the ends of the range.
• EU 42 is the most disputed size of all, commonly listed as US 8.5 or 9.
• Men and women use the same EU numbers, unlike US sizing.
• Print the compact chart and measure once rather than converting repeatedly.

Here is the short version for the sizes people ask about most.

Why do EU sizes convert so badly?

Because the two systems were built on different units and nobody reconciled them.

EU sizing uses the Paris point, a unit of two thirds of a centimetre, so each full EU size represents about 6.7mm of length. UK and US sizing descend from the barleycorn, one third of an inch, so each full size there represents about 8.5mm.

Those two numbers do not divide into each other. Three EU sizes cover about 20mm; two US sizes cover about 17mm. Start them at the same place and they immediately drift, and the drift accumulates as you go up the range. That is the whole reason EU conversions feel unreliable: they genuinely are, at a mathematical level, rather than because anyone is doing it wrong.

The practical effect is that EU sizing is actually more granular than US sizing. A one size jump in EU is a smaller change in length than a one size jump in US, which is a point in EU sizing's favour that rarely gets mentioned.

EU to US: men

Where a brand's own chart disagrees, follow the brand. Their chart reflects the last the shoe is built on, which a general table cannot account for.

EU to US: women

EU numbers are not gendered, so the same EU 39 appears in both tables against different US numbers. If you are shopping across men's and women's ranges, the EU number and the millimetre figure are the two columns that stay meaningful.

Why is EU 42 always disputed?

Because it falls almost exactly between two US sizes, and brands round it in different directions.

At around 265mm of foot length, EU 42 sits between a US 8.5 and a US 9 for men. Neither is wrong. A brand that builds slightly generously will call it a 9; one that builds snugly will call it an 8.5. Both are describing the same physical shoe length and making a judgement about fit.

The same thing happens at EU 39 and EU 45 for the same reason, just less visibly because fewer people buy those sizes. If you are an EU 42, the practical advice is to treat US 8.5 and 9 as both plausible, and to decide using the millimetre column and the brand's fit notes rather than the EU number alone.

Do EU half sizes exist?

They do, and they are more common than people expect, but they are not offered consistently and they are not always what they appear to be.

You will see EU 40.5, 42.5 and 44.5 regularly, particularly from sports and outdoor brands. Because a full EU size is only about 6.7mm, an EU half size is a little over 3mm, which is a genuinely small increment and close to the resolution your foot can actually tell apart.

Two complications are worth knowing about.

• Some EU half sizes are not half sizes at all. A brand that designs in US sizing and translates outward can end up labelling a shoe 42.5 simply because its US 9 fell between two EU numbers. The shoe was never built on a separate half size last.
• Half sizes thin out at the ends of the range. Small and large sizes are often offered in whole EU sizes only, which is where a conversion can produce a size that does not exist.

If the EU half size you need is unavailable, go up rather than down. Three millimetres of extra length is manageable with a thicker sock or a different lacing pattern. Three millimetres short is not manageable at all.

How does EU to US work for children?

The same Paris point logic applies, but two extra problems make children's conversions the least reliable of all.

The first is growth. A child's foot can gain the better part of a full size inside a few months, so any chart is a snapshot of a moving target. Measuring every couple of months matters far more than getting the conversion exactly right.

The second is the numbering restart. US children's sizing runs up to 13 and then starts again at 1 for youth sizes, while EU numbering simply continues upward. That means a US 1 is a larger shoe than a US 13, with no equivalent discontinuity on the EU side to warn you. It is the single most common ordering error in children's footwear.

The practical approach for children is to work entirely in millimetres, add a growth allowance of roughly five millimetres beyond the measured length, and check the fit again in two months rather than assuming the size will hold. Age based ranges are a sanity check rather than a method, and those are covered in the kids shoe size chart by age.

Why do two brands give different EU conversions?

Three causes, and they stack.

• Rounding direction. As above, a size that lands between two US numbers has to go one way or the other, and brands choose differently.
• The last, not the foot. Sizing describes the mould a shoe is built on. Two brands can build lasts of different lengths and call them the same size.
• Market origin. A brand that designs in EU sizing and translates outward will produce a different chart from one that designs in US sizing and translates inward.

None of this is resolvable by finding a better chart. It is resolved by knowing your foot length and reading the brand's own figures, which is the habit this guide is really arguing for.

Does EU sizing tell you anything about width?

Almost nothing, and that is the gap most conversion charts never mention.

The Paris point measures length only. Two shoes labelled EU 42 can differ substantially across the ball of the foot, and the label gives you no warning either way. Some European brands publish a separate width code, but there is no single standard behind those codes, so a width marking from one brand does not translate to another.

In practice this means a conversion can be arithmetically perfect and still produce a shoe that does not fit, because the problem was never the length. If a shoe in your converted size feels tight along the sides rather than at the toes, you have a width issue, and no amount of resizing will fix it cleanly.

Print friendly conversion chart

This version is deliberately plain so it prints cleanly in black and white on a single page. Print at one hundred percent scale rather than fit to page, so the table stays legible, and keep it with a tape measure.

Two notes for using the printed version. Mark your own measured length on it in pen the first time you use it, so you are reading your row rather than searching the table each time. And write the date next to it, because adult feet change slowly over years and a measurement from five years ago is not evidence about today.

How to use the chart properly

The chart is only as good as the measurement you bring to it.

1. Stand on paper with your heel against a wall. Standing, with weight on the foot, because feet lengthen under load.
2. Mark the tip of your longest toe, which is not always the big toe.
3. Measure in millimetres from the paper edge to the mark.
4. Do both feet and use the larger number.
5. Measure late in the day, when your feet are at their largest.

Then read across from the millimetre column rather than converting a size you remember. The millimetre figure is the only entry in any of these tables that means the same thing in every country. The same approach applied to millimetre based sizing is in Korean shoe size conversion, and the UK side is in UK to US shoe size conversion.

What to do with this

If you are buying once, use the tables and lean on the millimetre column whenever two sources disagree. If you buy from European brands regularly, print the compact chart, measure once, and stop converting from memory.

The broader point is that conversion charts exist because sizing scales disagree, and the finer a brand's own increments are, the less the disagreement costs you. Matching a measurement to a quarter size is a different exercise from translating a number between two systems that were never designed to line up.

Frequently asked questions

How do I convert EU to US shoe sizes?

Read across from the millimetre column where possible. As a guide, EU 40 is about a US men's 7, EU 42 is about a US men's 8.5 to 9, and EU 38.5 is about a US women's 8.

Why do EU sizes not match US sizes cleanly?

EU sizing steps by about 6.7mm, using the Paris point of two thirds of a centimetre, while US sizing steps by about 8.5mm. The two scales drift against each other as you move up the range.

Is EU 42 a US 8.5 or a US 9?

Both are defensible. EU 42 falls almost exactly between the two US sizes, so brands round in different directions. Use the millimetre figure and the brand's fit notes to decide.

Are EU shoe sizes the same for men and women?

Yes, EU numbering is not gendered. The same EU 39 appears against different US numbers depending on whether you are reading a men's or women's conversion.

Do EU half sizes exist?

Yes, particularly from sports and outdoor brands. An EU half size is a little over 3mm. Some are translations of a US size rather than a separately built half size last.

Does an EU size tell me anything about width?

Almost nothing. The Paris point measures length only. Some brands publish a separate width code, but there is no single standard behind those codes.

How should I print the conversion chart?

Print at one hundred percent scale rather than fit to page so the table stays legible, and keep it with a tape measure. Mark your own measured length on it the first time you use it.

How does EU to US work for children?

The same logic applies, but growth and the US numbering restart after 13 make it the least reliable conversion. Work in millimetres, allow about five millimetres of growth room, and re check in two months.