US to EU Kids' Shoe Size Conversion
| US | EU |
|---|---|
| 4 | 20 |
| 5 | 21 |
| 6 | 22 |
| 7 | 23 |
| 8 | 24 |
| 9 | 25 |
| 10 | 27 |
| 11 | 28 |
| 12 | 30 |
| 13 | 31 |
| 1Y | 32 |
| 2Y | 33 |
| 3Y | 34 |
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.
Two scales that don't even share a starting point
US kids' shoe sizing runs its own numbered track entirely separate from adult sizing — infant sizes, then a toddler range, then a 'big kid' youth range that eventually crosses over into adult numbering around a youth 13 becoming an adult 1. EU kids' sizing, by contrast, is simply the low end of the same continuous Paris-point scale used for EU adult shoes, with no separate naming convention at all. That structural difference, not just the number-to-number conversion, is the first thing to understand converting US to EU for a child's shoe.
Because EU kids' sizing doesn't reset or rename anything at any point, a EU size found on a toddler shoe and a EU size found on a pre-teen's shoe sit on the exact same numeric line, just at different points — whereas the US chart requires knowing which US sub-range (infant, toddler, or youth) you're even looking at before the conversion table applies correctly.
Growth room complicates any conversion
Parents commonly buy children's shoes with some growth room built in, which is reasonable for a size or so but distorts a straight conversion if applied too generously — a child measured at a true EU 28 shoved into a EU 30 'to last longer' will convert to a US size two full numbers larger than the child's actual foot, and that gap compounds if you then buy the next country's shoes based on the inflated converted size rather than a fresh measurement.
Measuring a child's foot directly beats converting a US shoe box size
Because kids' feet also grow noticeably faster than adult feet, an older US size from a shoe the child has since outgrown is a weak starting point for a EU conversion — measuring the current foot length in centimetres against the standard growth-adjusted charts most children's shoe retailers publish is more reliable than converting a size that may already be a size or two out of date.
Growing feet punish an old measurement fast
A child’s foot can grow half a size or more in just a few months, so an old US size — even one measured accurately at the time — is a weaker starting point for a EU conversion than measuring the current foot length directly against a growth-adjusted chart before ordering.
Frequently asked questions
Does US kids' sizing convert to EU the same way across the infant, toddler, and youth ranges?
Not on one single offset — the US scale changes structure across those ranges (with a reset around youth 13 to adult 1), while EU sizing runs one continuous scale throughout, so check which US sub-range you're converting from before trusting a single number gap.
Is it safe to size up a EU shoe for growth room and then convert to US for a second pair?
No — convert based on the child's actual current foot length, not a deliberately oversized EU number, since basing a second country's purchase on an inflated size compounds the error rather than accounting for genuine growth.
How often should I re-measure a child's foot before ordering across sizing systems?
Ideally right before each purchase — kids' feet grow fast enough that a foot length measured a few months ago, let alone the US size on an older outgrown shoe, is a weaker basis for a EU conversion than a fresh measurement.
Do EU kids' shoe sizes ever include half sizes the way US kids' sizing does?
Less consistently — many EU children's lines step in whole sizes only, so a US half size sometimes has no exact EU equivalent and rounds to the nearest whole EU number a given brand stocks.