European Shoe Size Chart: EU Shoe Size Conversion to US, UK and cm

A European shoe size chart converts EU sizes, which count the length of the last in Paris points of 6.67 mm, into US, UK and foot-length equivalents: EU 42 is a last of 280 mm, fits a foot of about 26.5–27.1 cm (10.4–10.7 in) and corresponds to UK 8½, US men’s 9½ and US women’s 10½. Below are the full conversion chart, the formulas behind it and the reasons one maker’s 42 fits differently from another’s.

What is a European shoe size?

The European scale is also called the French or Paris point system. Its unit is the Paris point, point de Paris: two thirds of a centimetre, or 6.67 mm. It is used by makers in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and most of continental Europe, hence the name.

A size in this system is the number of Paris points in the length of the last, the form the shoe is built on. A last 27 cm long holds 270 ÷ 6.67 = 40.5 points, so it is size 40½. A last of 30 cm is exactly 45 points, size 45.

That gives a simple rule: the EU size equals the last length in centimetres multiplied by 1.5. The reverse: last length in centimetres equals the size divided by 1.5. EU 38 is a last of 25.3 cm, EU 44 a last of 29.3 cm.

The whole adult range fits into a short span. EU 35 is a last of about 23.3 cm, EU 48 a last of 32 cm. Every extra centimetre of last adds one and a half sizes.

For comparison, the British and American step, the barleycorn, is 8.47 mm, and the Russian metric step is 5 mm. Three scales with three different steps are why every conversion chart has uneven rows.

Why your EU size is bigger than your foot length

A last is always longer than the foot. The toes need room to move as you walk, and the toe shape of a style may extend the front further. For continental shoes the allowance is usually 13 to 17 mm, two to two and a half Paris points.

The chart on this page uses an allowance of 15 mm. So to estimate your EU size from your foot, add 1.5 cm to the foot length and multiply by 1.5, rounding down to the nearest half size. A 26 cm foot gives EU 41, a 27 cm foot EU 42½, a 28 cm foot EU 44.

EU shoe size conversion chart: US, UK and foot length

The chart below takes each whole EU size and shows the range of foot lengths it covers, in centimetres and inches, plus the UK and US sizes for the middle of that range, rounded to the nearest half.

Read a row like this. For EU 42: a foot of 26.5–27.1 cm, UK 8½, US men’s 9½, US women’s 10½. If your foot is 26.8 cm, EU 42 is the obvious choice. If it is right at the edge of a row, the shape of the toe and a fitting decide.

How to convert EU shoe size to cm and inches

Last length: divide the size by 1.5. EU 40 is 26.7 cm, EU 43 is 28.7 cm, EU 46 is 30.7 cm. The insole of a finished pair is close to this figure.

Foot length: divide the size by 1.5 and subtract 1.5 cm. EU 40 gives 25.2 cm (9.9 in), EU 43 gives 27.2 cm (10.7 in), EU 46 gives 29.2 cm (11.5 in). This is the shortest foot the size is meant for; a particular maker may differ by 3–5 mm.

The step is coarser than it looks: one size is 6.7 mm of last, and between EU 42 and EU 44 there is already more than a centimetre.

EU to US shoe size: men’s and women’s

The US scale is built on the barleycorn, one third of an inch, so there is no fixed number to add or subtract. The chart gives the points to work from.

Men: EU 40 is about US 8, EU 42 is US 9½, EU 44 is US 11½, EU 46 is US 13.

Women: the US women’s scale runs one size above the men’s for the same length. EU 38 is about US women’s 7½, EU 40 is US 9, EU 42 is US 10½.

One European scale serves both men and women: EU 38 for a man and EU 38 for a woman are the same last length. The lasts differ in the heel, the ball and the instep, and a woman in EU 41–43 who is offered a man’s style gets the right length with too much width at the heel.

EU to UK shoe size conversion

One UK size is 8.47 mm, one EU size 6.67 mm. The British step is about 1.27 times longer, so the gap between the two numbers changes along the range.

On this chart EU 35 is UK 3, a difference of 32. EU 42 is UK 8½, a difference of 33½. EU 46 is UK 12, a difference of 34. The rule of adding 33 to a UK size works only in the middle of the range.

Some reference points: EU 38 is about UK 5½, EU 40 is UK 7, EU 44 is UK 10½.

The British shoe research body SATRA gives women’s UK 8 as EU 42, half a size above the formula, which puts it at 41½. Many makers mark their shoes that way, and both are within conversion error.

Italian, German and French shoe sizes

Shoes from Italy, Germany, France and Spain are marked on the same Paris point scale. An Italian, a German and a Spanish 40 are all designed around a last of about 26.7 cm. There is no separate German or Italian chart with its own step.

There is no single correction for Italian shoes either. Makers’ charts disagree: one maker’s 43 may be meant for a 27 cm foot, another’s for 27.5 cm. The advice to add one to an Italian size does not follow from any standard and has to be checked against each maker’s chart.

Russian shoe sizes are a separate case. The Russian standard GOST 11373-88 defines size as foot length in millimetres, and its reference table puts a 270 mm foot at the everyday Russian size 42, where the EU chart gives 42½. So the Russian number for the same foot is usually half a size to a size below the EU one. Some online shops simply subtract one from the EU size; neither standard contains such a rule.

Why EU 42 fits differently from brand to brand

Size 42 fixes the last at 280 mm, but the foot it is meant for depends on the allowance. With 13 mm it suits a foot of about 267 mm, with 17 mm one of about 263 mm. Those 4 mm are more than half a European size.

Style adds its share. A short round toe needs almost no decorative allowance; a long or pointed one may need more than the functional one. Two pairs in 42 with different toes differ more in insole length than in room for the toes.

Some makers number pairs by insole length, others by the foot the pair is meant for, and the product page does not always say which. That is where “runs small” and “runs large” come from.

Half sizes are rare in the European scale. Half a Paris point is about 3.3 mm, and most continental makers produce whole sizes only. When a foot falls between two, laced shoes are usually taken in the smaller size, loafers and Chelsea boots, which stay on by fit alone, in the larger one with the heel checked.

How to find your EU shoe size before buying

Measure your foot standing, in the evening, both feet, in the socks you will wear with the pair. Use the longer foot.

Find the maker’s chart that gives foot or insole length for each size. Compare foot length directly. From insole length subtract the allowance: for closed shoes the insole is usually 10–15 mm longer than the foot.

If there is no chart, use the formula: foot in centimetres plus 1.5, times 1.5. The result is accurate to about a size, and a fitting and the toe shape decide the rest.

Compare the two feet. If they differ by more than half a Paris point, 3–4 mm, choose by the longer one. When the difference reaches a whole EU size, one ready-made pair rarely fits both feet.

EU sizes for bespoke shoes: no number needed

In a bespoke workshop the European number plays no part. The shoemaker measures both feet by hand, the girths at several points, the instep height, heel width and toe shape, and builds separate lasts for the right and the left foot.

Men’s and women’s shoes are made for Russian sizes 33 to 52, feet from 21.0 to 33.7 cm (8.3 to 13.3 in). If the two feet differ in size, each is given its own last, with no upper limit on the difference.

The lasts take about six weeks, followed by one to three fittings in trial shoes. A first pair takes about ten weeks and costs from 100,000 roubles. Later pairs on the saved lasts take from four weeks without a new measuring.

The measuring visit is in Moscow, near Taganskaya metro, by appointment between 10:00 and 20:00. The first consultation is free.