UK Shoe Sizing System

The UK shoe sizing system is used in the United Kingdom and in many Commonwealth and international brands. It is historically based on the barleycorn (about ⅓ inch per size step) and produces smaller numeric sizes than US men’s for the same foot length—so a UK 8 is roughly a US men’s 9. This guide explains how UK sizes work, how they relate to US, EU, and Japan, how width is handled, and where to find exact conversions and tools on this site.

How UK Shoe Sizing Works

UK sizing uses one size step per barleycorn (approximately ⅓ inch or 8.5 mm of foot length). The scale has separate progressions for men and women. For men, UK size is typically one number lower than US men’s for the same foot: UK 7 ≈ US men’s 8, UK 8 ≈ US men’s 9, UK 10 ≈ US men’s 11. For women, UK numbers are also lower than US women’s—often one to two sizes—so UK 5 ≈ US women’s 7, UK 6 ≈ US women’s 8. Half sizes are standard (7, 7.5, 8, 8.5), which makes conversion to US half sizes straightforward.

Kids’ sizing in the UK has its own progression (e.g. 0.5, 1, 2 up to around 13) before overlapping with adult. When converting, always specify whether you’re converting men’s, women’s, or kids. Use our UK to US Size page or Shoe Size Converter with the correct category, or look up a specific size in the Programmatic Index (e.g. UK 8 to US). If you’re starting from foot length in cm, use the Foot Measurement Calculator or CM to US Shoe Size and then convert to UK.

UK to US, EU, and Japan: Conversion Examples

Conversions are based on matching foot length. Below are typical equivalents.

• UK 7 (men’s) → about US men’s 8, EU 41; UK 7 → US, UK 7 → EU.
• UK 8 (men’s) → about US men’s 9, EU 42; UK 8 → US, UK 8 → EU.
• UK 10 (men’s) → about US men’s 11, EU 44; UK 10 → US, UK 10 → EU.
• UK 5 (women’s) → about US women’s 7, EU 38; UK 5 → US, UK 5 → EU (women).
• UK to Japan — Japan uses cm. UK 8 ≈ Japan 26–27 cm. Use the Shoe Size Converter or programmatic pages via the programmatic index.

The main Shoe Size Converter, UK to US Size, and US to EU Size (together with the converter) cover UK↔US↔EU. For single-size lookups, the Programmatic Index lists all UK→US, UK→EU, and other region pairs.

Width in UK Sizing

UK width is often indicated as F (standard), E (narrow), or G (wide), or with numbers. It is less uniformly standardized than US width (B, D, E, EE). Many UK brands assume a standard width and only offer wide in selected styles. If you need a wide or narrow fit, check the brand’s size chart and consider our Foot Width Calculator and Foot Width Guide to see how your measurements compare. When converting UK to US or EU, length is primary; width still depends on the brand and last.

Tools and Programmatic Pages

Use these resources for UK conversions and related sizing:

• Shoe Size Converter — enter UK (or any region) and get US, EU, UK, Japan.
• UK to US Size — convert UK to US.
• US to EU Size — convert US to EU (use with UK→US for full UK↔EU).
• CM to US Shoe Size — foot length in cm to US, then convert to UK.
• Foot Measurement Calculator — measure then convert.
• Programmatic Index — all single-size pages (e.g. UK 8 → US, UK 9 → EU, UK → US).

For more on global sizing, see the Complete Global Size Chart Guide, Shoe Size Guides, and Measurement Guides.

FAQ: UK Shoe Sizing