Shoe Size Conversion

To measure your feet, stand on a sheet of paper with your heel against a wall, mark the tip of the longest toe, and measure from the wall to the mark. Measure both feet in the late afternoon, when feet are slightly larger, and use the longer one. Converting between systems is only approximate, because each system counts from a different starting point and step size, and manufacturers' lasts vary, so a size from this converter is a starting point for trying shoes on.

Shoe Size Calculation Formulas

Shoe sizes are based on the length of the last, the foot-shaped form a shoe is built around, which is a little longer than the foot to leave room for the toes. English and American sizes go up by a barleycorn, a third of an inch (8.47 mm), per full size, with half sizes in between. The US men's scale starts lower than the UK scale, so a UK size is about one smaller than the US men's size, and US women's sizes are usually one and a half larger than US men's for the same foot, although many brands use a difference of one.

Continental European sizes use the Paris point of two-thirds of a centimeter (6.67 mm) per size, counted from zero. Japan, and the international Mondopoint system used for ski boots and military footwear, simply state the foot length in centimeters or millimeters. The formulas used by this converter are shown here, with L as the foot length.

US men = 3 × L − 22 · US women = 3 × L − 21 · UK = 3 × L − 23 · EU = 1.5 × (L cm + 1.5)

L

foot length in inches (L cm in centimeters)

Shoe Size Chart

Adult sizes from foot length, rounded to the nearest half size using the formulas above. Real-world charts from brands may differ by half a size.

Children's sizes. Toddler and kids' sizes run from 0 to 13.5 on the US scale, then restart at 1 on the youth (big kids) scale, which matches the adult men's scale.

Foot measurement systems

The English system is the oldest still in use. A statute attributed to Edward II in 1324 is often said to have defined the inch as three barleycorns, and by the seventeenth century shoemakers counted sizes in barleycorns from a starting length of about four inches for the smallest child's size. The US system was derived from it but starts at a slightly different point, and US sizes also have separate scales for men, women and children.

The Continental European system counts Paris points from zero, so its numbers run from about 15 for infants to around 50 for large adult feet. It is used across most of Europe, the Middle East and parts of Latin America. Because a Paris point is shorter than a barleycorn, European sizes change in smaller steps, and there is no exact one-to-one match with English sizes; conversion charts round to the nearest size.

Mondopoint, defined by the ISO 9407 standard, describes a shoe by the length and often the width of the foot it fits, in millimeters, for example 270/100. Because it is based on the foot rather than the last, it is the most logical system and is used by NATO armed forces, for ski boots and, in centimeter form, for everyday shoes in Japan, Korea and China. China's older national system used a number roughly equal to twice the foot length in centimeters minus ten.

Width is a second dimension often forgotten. US and UK shoes come in letter widths, such as B for medium women's and D for medium men's in the US, with wider fittings marked E, EE and beyond, and narrower ones A, AA and so on. If your size feels right in length but tight across the ball of the foot, try a wider fitting rather than a longer shoe.

Feet change over a lifetime. Children's feet grow quickly, about half a size every two to four months for toddlers, so their feet should be measured often, and adult feet tend to lengthen and widen with age, weight gain and pregnancy.

Frequently asked questions