EU to US Women's Shoe Size Conversion
| EU | US |
|---|---|
| 35.5 | 5 |
| 36 | 5.5 |
| 36.5 | 6 |
| 37 | 6.5 |
| 37.5 | 7 |
| 38 | 7.5 |
| 38.5 | 8 |
| 39 | 8.5 |
| 39.5 | 9 |
| 40 | 9.5 |
| 40.5 | 10 |
Sizing conventions vary by brand and by cut — this table shows the standard published conversion. Always check the garment's own size chart when one is available. See how these tables are compiled.
Reading a European size tag for a US purchase
If you're holding a EU-labeled shoe and shopping a US retailer, the number on the tag is a Paris-point measurement — each EU point equals two-thirds of a centimetre of last length — while the US retailer's size run is built on a wholly separate half-size tradition. The conversion table exists because there's no shared unit underneath either scale, not because one is a simple offset of the other.
This matters most at the edges of a size run. US retailers frequently stock whole and half sizes down to a US 5 and up to a US 11, while a EU run for the same style might skip certain Paris-point sizes on a given last. If your EU size converts to something like a US 7.25, expect the retailer to round to the nearest half size it actually stocks, and expect that rounding to occasionally go the 'wrong' way for your foot.
US lasts often run a touch wider
Where many European women's lasts are cut narrow through the midfoot, a lot of mainstream US brands cut noticeably wider through the same area. Someone converting a true EU 39 into a US 8 for a first purchase from an American brand may find the length matches but the shoe has more room across the ball of the foot than the European shoe they're used to — worth knowing before you order a half size down to compensate for a 'snugness' that a European shoe would have had but a US one won't.
What to check before ordering
Convert your EU size to centimetres of actual foot length first — US shoe companies selling internationally almost always publish that cm column precisely because a EU-to-US number lookup alone loses the precision a real length figure keeps.
Domestic US sizing means an easier exchange
One practical upside of buying from a US retailer while converting a EU size: exchanges are typically a domestic transaction rather than an international one, so getting the size slightly wrong is cheaper to fix than the reverse direction would be. That's worth factoring in if your EU size sits right at the boundary between two US half sizes — ordering the size that rounds up and exchanging domestically if needed is usually simpler than trying to guess exactly right the first time.
Frequently asked questions
Is a EU 39 always a US 8?
That's the standard published midpoint, but individual US brands' EU-to-US size runs vary by roughly half a size depending on the last. Check the brand's cm chart for anything you can't try on first.
Why does my EU size convert to an odd number like 7.25?
Paris-point EU sizing and US half-size sizing don't share a common ratio, so a straight unit conversion rarely lands on a clean US half size — retailers round to the nearest size they stock.
Will a US shoe in my converted size feel different from my usual EU shoe?
Often yes — many mainstream US women's lasts are cut wider through the midfoot than typical European lasts, so the length can match while the fit feels roomier than you're used to.
If my EU size is between two US half sizes, which way should I round?
Round up if the brand runs true to length, and only round down if you already know that specific brand cuts long — when unsure, round up, since a domestic US exchange is simpler than shipping a European return.