Shoe size cm chart: foot length to US, UK, EU sizes

The most reliable way to pick a shoe size across countries is to start from the length of your foot in centimeters. The charts below go from foot length to US, UK, EU and Japanese sizes for men, women and kids. Japanese sizes are simply foot length in centimeters, which makes them the easiest reference point. Inches are included for anyone measuring with a US ruler.

How to measure your foot

Stand on a sheet of paper with your heel against a wall, in the socks you will wear with the shoes. Mark the tip of your longest toe, which is not always the big toe. Measure from the wall to the mark. Do both feet and use the longer one. Measure in the evening, because feet are usually a little larger at the end of the day.

Worked example: a 26.3 cm foot

Say your longer foot measures 26.3 cm (10.35 in). It sits between two rows, so round up to the next row, 26.5 cm. In the men's chart that is US 8.5, UK 8, EU 41.5. In the women's chart the same foot is US 9.5, UK 7.5, EU 40.5. If you are ordering a style that brand reviews say runs small, go one more half size up.

Why the systems don't line up neatly

Each system counts something different. US sizes come from the Brannock device and step by a fixed amount per size from a starting point. UK sizes step by a third of an inch (one barleycorn). EU sizes count Paris points of two thirds of a centimeter, measured on the shoe last rather than the foot. Japanese and Mondopoint sizes just state the foot length. Because the steps are different, a half-size in one system can fall between two half-sizes in another, which is why EU sizes in the charts above sometimes skip a number.

Brands also build their own lasts, so the same label can fit differently; our guide to shoe size by manufacturer covers that. Our view: trust the brand's own cm or Mondopoint figure over its US or EU number whenever it prints one, because foot length is the only value every system agrees on.