Shoe Size Converter (Japan, US, UK, EU)

Convert shoe sizes between Japan (cm), US, UK, and EU systems. Includes separate men's and women's conversion tables — handy when you're not sure what a size label actually means.

Japan (cm)
US
UK
EU

Men's Size Chart

Japan (cm) US UK EU
24 6 5 38.5
24.5 6.5 5.5 39
25 7 6 40
25.5 7.5 6.5 40.5
26 8 7 41
26.5 8.5 7.5 42
27 9 8 42.5
27.5 9.5 8.5 43
28 10 9 44
28.5 10.5 9.5 44.5
29 11 10 45
29.5 11.5 10.5 45.5
30 12 11 46

Women's Size Chart

Japan (cm) US UK EU
21 4 2 34
21.5 4.5 2.5 34.5
22 5 3 35
22.5 5.5 3.5 35.5
23 6 4 36
23.5 6.5 4.5 37
24 7 5 37.5
24.5 7.5 5.5 38
25 8 6 39
25.5 8.5 6.5 39.5
26 9 7 40

The chart above is a general guideline. Actual fit can vary by manufacturer, brand, and shoe shape (width, instep height, etc.). Trying the shoe on in person is recommended whenever possible.

Tips

  • When buying shoes from an overseas retailer, if an actual measured-length figure in centimeters is listed alongside the US/UK size, check that instead — it's usually more reliable than the size label alone.
  • Men's and women's sizes differ even at the same measured length in centimeters (for example, 24.0 cm is men's US 6, but women's US 7). Make sure you've selected the right gender.
  • EU sizes are often set in fine 0.5 increments, so where a given JP (cm) size maps to more than one possible EU value, the closer match is used.
  • Some brands note that they "run a size large" or "run small," so treat this chart as a starting point and cross-check with fit reviews where available.

Frequently Asked Questions

There's no single international standard for shoe size labels (US, UK, EU, etc.) — each country and manufacturer sets sizes based on its own shoe last. This chart uses the guideline values commonly found across multiple manufacturers and retailers, but actual fit still varies by brand.

Japanese shoe sizing expresses the actual measured length of the foot — from the heel to the tip of the longest toe — in centimeters. Unlike US, UK, or EU sizes, which are sequential last numbers, it's based directly on a physical measurement.

Even at the same measured length in centimeters, men's and women's shoes are built on different lasts, so the corresponding US/UK size numbers differ. For example, 24.0 cm corresponds to men's US 6 but women's US 7.

This tool covers adult men's and women's sizes only. Children's shoes typically use a separate sizing system tied to growth stages (kids' sizes), which isn't covered by this chart.
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Side Note — why shoe sizing is such a mess across countries

Shoe sizing diverges sharply between places that use the metric system (cm) — Japan and parts of Europe — and the US/UK, which use their own numbering systems. US and UK sizes in particular are still built on an old system based on the "barleycorn," a medieval English unit of length equal to about three grains of barley (roughly 8.47 mm), a system that developed entirely independently of the modern International System of Units.

EU sizing (sometimes called the French point system) counts the length of the shoe's internal last in units of 2/3 cm, and is said to have been devised by French shoemakers in the 19th century. The key difference from Japan's cm-based labeling is that it's based on the length of the shoe last itself, not a direct measurement of the foot.

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) established a universal sizing system called Mondopoint (based on actual foot length in millimeters) back in the 1970s, but the sizing conventions consumers are already used to — US, UK, EU, and the like — have proven stubborn, and Mondopoint has never really caught on in stores or online retailers.

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