How to Convert Asian Sizes to the US, UK & EU Sizes (2023)

If you’ve ever tried to buy clothes online from Asia, then you know that sizing can be confusing.

Trying to figure out what your Asian size is and how it corresponds with sizes in the US, UK, and EU can be a real puzzle — especially if you haven’t done it before.

China, the largest exporter of the clothing industry, gained a market value of $146 billion in 2021.

So, knowing how to convert Asian sizes into US, UK, and EU sizes is a must if you want to participate in the international trade of apparel.

In this article, we’ll help decode the mystery of Asian sizing so that you’re able to match up your measurements correctly!

What does Asian size mean?

Asian size refers to the standard Asian size, especially for clothing and shoes that fit Asian people. Clothing includes the circumference of the bust, waist, and leg, and shoes include length and width. 

Asian size conversion means the sizing guideline that is considered standard for Asians and is used for measuring the differences with other countries. 

A size conversion chart helps importers understand the differences when those products are produced for global clients. 

Converting men’s clothes from Asian to US, UK, and EU sizes

The size difference is one of the big reasons the term conversion comes into play. Then again, no matter the size difference, having the essential body parts measured can save a lot of hassle.

The global conversion chart of S, M, L, etc., runs differently, but the measuring process is identical. Meaning body stature will vary but not the way it is measured. 

These are the male body parts that need to be measured:

• Neck. Around the base of the neck, but somewhat loose-fitting. 
• Sleeve. From the middle of the back of the neck to the wrist bone. 
• Chest. The circumference of the chest from under the armpits.
• Waist. Measure around the narrow part of the waistline. 
• Inside leg measurement (Inseam). Starts from where the leg starts till the ankle.

Analyzing this information will help you understand the physical differences among different countries. And you can determine which sizes of clothes will fit your target audience while importing from Asia.

Still, it is wise to purchase clothing products larger in size from Asia. 

Here’s an example of an L-size male top (shirt, t-shirt, etc.) measurement difference between an Asian and an American, collected from the Nike size chart:

Measurement	Asia	US
Chest (in.)	38 – 40.5	41 – 44
Waist (in.)	33.5 – 36	35 – 38
Hip (in.)	38 – 40	41 – 44

Note: Clothing measurement will vary depending on the type. For example, if you sell undergarments, you must have additional measurements.

Now, here is the conversion chart of male clothes from Asian sizes to US, UK, and EU sizes:

Asia	US	UK	EU
XS	34/27	34	2XS 44
S	38/28-29	36	XS 46
M	39/30-31	38	S 48
L	40/32-33	40	M 50
XL	42/34-35	42	L 52
2XL	44/36-37	44	XL 54

Converting men’s shoes from Asian to US, UK, and EU sizes

To convert shoe size, you have to know your users’ foot measurements. Here’s how to measure the shoes:

• Take a piece of paper larger than your feet. Place your feet on it.
• Then, with a ruler/ measuring tape, measure the length from the heel to the tip of the longest toe.
• Add 0.5 inches to the length.

Also, you can take feet measurements at night, as that’s when your foot expands at its biggest size.

Here’s the shoe size conversion list for men:

		Asia			Length (Heel to Toe)	US	UK	EU
China	Vietnam	India	Japan	S. Korea	–	–	–	–
34	21.5	2.5	21	210	21 cm	3	N/A	34.5
34.5	22	3	21.5	215	21.5 cm	3.5	3	35
35	22.5	3.5	22	220	22 cm	4	3.5	35.5
35.5	23	4	22.5	225	22.5 cm	4.5	4	36
36	23.5	4.5	23	230	23 cm	5	4.5	37
36.5	24	5	23.5	235	23.5 cm	5.5	5	37.5
37	24.5	5.5	24	240	24 cm	6	5.5	38
37.5	25	6	24.5	245	24.5 cm	6.5	6	38.5
38	25.5	5.5	25	250	25 cm	7	6.5	39
38.5	26	7	25.5	255	25.5 cm	7.5	7	40
39	26.5	7.5	26	260	26 cm	8	7.5	41
39.5	27	8	26.5	265	26.5 cm	8.5	8	42
40	27.5	8.5	27	270	27 cm	9	8.5	43
40.5	28	9	27.5	275	27.5 cm	9.5	9	43.5
41	28.5	9.5	28	280	28 cm	10	9.5	44
41.5	29	10	28.5	285	28.5 cm	10.5	10	44.5
42	29.5	10.5	29	290	29 cm	11	10.5	45
42.5	30	11	29.5	295	29.5 cm	11.5	11	45.5
43	30.5	11.5	30	300	30 cm	12	11.5	46

Converting women’s clothes from Asian to US, UK, and EU sizes

There are four main body parts to measure for women’s clothing:

• Bust. Under the arms, the circumference of the full bust. 
• Waist. The narrow part of the waist.
• Hip. The fullest part of the hip.
• Leg. From the top of the leg to the angle.

Here’s an example of an M-size women’s top (shirt, t-shirt, etc.) measurement difference between an Asian and an American, collected from the Nike size chart:

Measurement	Asia	US
Bust (in.)	33.5-35	35.5-38
Waist (in.)	28-29.5	29-31.5
Hip (in.)	36.5-38	38.5-41

However, women’s clothing conversion size can puzzle you based on the country of your target audience.

For example, even though letter systems like S, M, L, and XL are universal, the EU has a number system relating to actual measurements, such as 30, 32, 34, etc.

America has various clothing sizes based on women’s body proportions, such as:

• Misses. Starts from zero and goes up to 16, and size ranges from extra small to small; for American women who have hourglass shape body proportions.
• Junior. Odd numbers like one, three, five, etc. Clothes in these ranges are slightly smaller than the Misses; for women with a small bust. 
• Petite and Tall. These terms are more about height than the body. Women, with heights up to 5’4″ fall under the petite category, and those who are over 5’7″ are in the tall category.
• Plus size/Women’s size. For bigger Women, such as 18 or more. The definition of plus size varies.

So, it is better to check with the suppliers about clothing conversion. 

On that note, here comes the women’s cloth size conversion size chart:

Asia	US	UK	EU
XS	2	4	2XS 32
S	4	6	XS 34
M	6	8	S 36
L	8	10	M 38
XL	10	12	L 40
2XL	12	14	XL 42

Converting women’s shoes from Asian to US, UK, and EU sizes

Like women’s clothing, women’s foot to has size differences, such as women’s shoe measurement in the US is five to 10.5; in the UK is between three to eight, and in Europe, 5.5 to 42. 

Here’s the shoe size conversion chart of Asian women to the US, the UK, and EU women:

		Asia			Length (Heel to Toe)	US	UK	EU
China	Vietnam	India	Japan	S. Korea	–	–	–	–
35	21	2	22	220	22 cm	4	3.5	36.5
35.5	21.5	2.5	22.5	225	22.5 cm	4.5	4	37
36	22	3	23	230	23 cm	5	4.5	37.5
36.5	22.5	3.5	23.5	235	23.5 cm	5.5	5	38
37	23	4	24	240	24 cm	6	5.5	39
37.5	23.5	4.5	24.5	245	24.5 cm	6.5	6	40
38	24	5	25	250	25 cm	7	6.5	40.5
38.5	24.5	5.5	25.5	255	25.5 cm	7.5	7	41
39	25	6	26	260	26 cm	8	7.5	41.5
39.5	25.5	6.5	26.5	265	26.5 cm	8.5	8	42
40	26	7	27	270	27 cm	9	8.5	42.5

Converting children’s clothes from Asian to US, UK, and EU sizes

Measuring baby clothes is less difficult, as babies don’t develop much physically till a certain age.

Hence, UK and US measure clothing based on children’s age, while in Europe, the clothes are measured based on the child’s height in centimeters.

In the US, the clothing size of newborns and toddlers is measured by weight in pounds and height in inches.

Here’s a chart of baby clothing conversion. The letter ‘T’ in the US means ‘Toddler.’ 

	Asia		US (month)	UK (month)	EU (cm)
China (cm)	Japan (cm)	Korea (Ibs)	–	–	–
105	100	7	4T	3-4	98-104
115	110	9	5	4-5	104-110
115	110	9	6	5-6	110-116
125	120	11	6X-7	6-7	116-122
125	120	13	7 to 8	7-8	122-128
135	130	13	9 to 10	8-9	128-134
145	140	15	10	9-10	134-140
155	150	17	11	10-11	140-146 cm
165	160	17	14	11-12	146-152 cm

Clothing measurements start to come around for grown-up children as they start developing physical attributes, where boys and girls are measured separately.

Their attires measurements are then decided by measuring chest, waist, hips, inseam, and height.

Even so, the measuring process is the same, but the output might differ.

For example, girls’ clothing sizes in the US and UK are measured based on age, whereas measurement in Europe is based on height in centimeters:

Age	US (age)		UK (age)		EU (cm)
–	Boy	Girl	Boy	Girl	Boy	Girl
4-5	5	5	4-5	4-5	104-110	104-110
5-6	6	6	5-6	5-6	110-116	110-116
6-7	6X-7	6X-7	6-7	6-7	116-122	116-122
7-8	7 to 8	7 to 8	7-8	7-8	122-128	122-128
8-9	9 to 10	9 to 10	8-9	8-9	128-134	128-134
9-10	10	10	9-10	9-10	134-140	134-140
10-11	11	11	10-11	10-11	140-146	140-146
11-12	14	14	11-12	11-12	146-152	146-152

Converting children’s shoes from Asian to US, UK, and EU sizes

Generally, for converting kids’ shoe sizes, there’s no difference based on gender or size. But most countries categorize baby shoes based on age groups, such as newborns, toddlers, etc. 

In the US, babies’ shoe sizes range from 0C to 10C (newborn to 4-year-old), and youth shoe range from one year to seven years. 

Here’s a baby shoe size chart based on the baby’s foot in inches and centimeters:

Foot length in inches	Foot length in CM	US	UK	EU
5″	12.7 cm	5C	4.5	20.5
5 1/4″	13.3 cm	6C	5.5	21.5
5 5/8″	14.2 cm	7C	6.5	23
6″	15.0 cm	8C	7.5	24.5
6 1/4″	15.7 cm	9C	8.5	25.5
6 5/8″	16.6 cm	10C	9.5	27
6 7/8″	17.3 cm	11C	10.5	28
7 1/8″	17.9 cm	12C	11.5	29
7 3/8″	18.8 cm	13C	12.5	30.5
7 5/8″	19.5 cm	1Y	13.5	31.5
8″	20.4 cm	2Y	1.5	33
8 3/8″	21.3 cm	3Y	2.5	34.5

Children’s shoes start to differ slightly at grown-up age. Here is the shoe conversion chart for children aged 12 and up:

Foot length in inches	Foot length in CM	US	UK	EU
6.625″	16.8	10.5	9.5	27
6.75″	17.1	11	10	28
7″	17.8	11.5	10.5	29
7.125″	18.1	12	11	30
7.25″	18.4	12.5	11.5	30
7.5″	19.1	13	12	31
7.625″	19.4	13.5	12.5	31
7.75″	19.7	1	13	32
8″	20.3	1.5	14	33
8.125″	20.6	2	1	33
8.25″	21	2.5	1.5	34
8.5″	21.6	3	2	34
8.625″	21.9	3.5	2.5	35
8.75″	22.2	4	3	36
9″	22.9	4.5	3.5	36
9.125″	23.2	5	4	37
9.25″	23.5	5.5	4.5	37
9.5″	24.1	6	5	38
9.625″	24.4	6.5	5.5	38
9.75″	24.8	7	6	39

How do you pick the right conversion size, Asian to the US, UK, and EU size?

Getting the right conversion chart ensures you have the right products, can meet clients’ expectations, and cut down the number of returns. 

To pick the right conversion size, you must clearly understand the sizing differences of the countries you are selling and importing. 

As Asian clothes and shoes tend to be smaller than those of the US, the UK, and the EU, the best thing to do is ask your shoe and clothing product suppliers for the conversion chart. 

And if you started dropshipping or have an online store, you can always use apps like the Shopify size chart app for size conversion. 

Summary

Before we go to the conclusion, we’ve created a quick summary of this article for you, so you can easily remember it:

• Knowing standards is good, but knowing a specific country’s standard is a better approach when importing from any Asian country. So, before getting started, study the sizing of the items carefully. 
• Know the body proportion differences if you are creating your own conversion chart. 
• To avoid unforeseen trouble in calculating, it is always better to check your supplier and ask for the conversion chart. 
• Take advantage of chart conversion apps available online. 
• Refrain from buying Asian free-size clothing or shoes.

Conclusion

There you go, the Asian size converted to US, UK, and EU sizes!

Clothing and shoe size conversion can be really tricky. And even though you know the measurement, mistakes can occur. 

Therefore, always check with your supplier and ask for a conversion chart to be on the safe side. If one supplier doesn’t have them, others will. 

Good luck with your journey!

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