When buying international brands online, shoe size becomes a guessing game: US, UK, EU and Japanese centimetre labels follow completely different logics. The Shoe Size Converter translates them via the common physical basis – foot length.
How the systems work
EU counts in Paris points: one point = 6.67 mm, EU size = 1.5 × (foot length + 1.5 cm allowance). UK and US count in barleycorns (⅓ inch) from a historical zero length – US men's sits one number above UK, US women's another 1.5 above that. Japan/Mondopoint is the most honest and simply states the foot length in centimetres.
Step by step
- Choose the source system: EU, US men's, US women's, UK or directly the foot length in cm
- Enter the value: half sizes like 42.5 work too
- Read the result: all systems in parallel plus the underlying foot length
Example
EU 43 corresponds to roughly US men's 10, US women's 11.5, UK 9 and a foot length of 27.2 cm. Conversely: a woman wearing US 9 needs about size 40 in Europe – while the same number in US men's would be EU 42.5. Exactly this mix-up is the most common bad buy with sneakers, which are often listed unisex in men's sizes.
Measuring your foot correctly
In the evening, stand barefoot on a sheet of paper against a wall, mark the longest toe, measure the distance – on both feet, because they almost always differ by a few millimetres. Use the larger value; the 1–1.5 cm allowance for the rolling motion is already built into the EU formula. What remains is brand reality: manufacturers round differently and cut lasts differently narrow. The calculated size is the right starting point – in borderline cases, check the manufacturer's centimetre chart that more and more shops provide.
