European kids shoes are sized in EU numbers, and parents usually arrive here holding one of two things: an EU size that needs translating to US, or a foot measurement in centimeters. This guide covers both directions. Quick answers first, then the full charts, then the measuring method that makes any chart trustworthy.
What is EU size 26 in US kids shoes?
EU 26 is a US 9.5 in kids sizing. It fits a foot about 16.2 cm long, which is typical around age 3.
What is size 29 in kids shoes in the US?
EU 29 converts to a US 11.5. It fits a foot about 18.2 cm long, common at 4 to 5 years old.
What is EU 33 in US shoe size?
EU 33 is a US 1.5 in youth sizing, the scale that starts after kids size 13. It fits a foot about 20.8 cm long, typical around age 7.
EU to US kids shoe size chart
The table covers the range European kids brands make for children up to age 7, and our own shoe stock right now runs from about EU 20 to 29, well inside it. Foot length is the number to trust. The US column is the closest common equivalent, and the brand decides the exact cut.
| EU size | Foot length | US size | Typical age |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | 11.5 cm | 4 | 6 to 9 months |
| 20 | 12.2 cm | 5 | 9 to 12 months |
| 21 | 12.8 cm | 5.5 | 12 to 15 months |
| 22 | 13.5 cm | 6 | 15 to 18 months |
| 23 | 14.2 cm | 7 | 18 to 24 months |
| 24 | 14.8 cm | 8 | 2 years |
| 25 | 15.5 cm | 8.5 | 2 to 3 years |
| 26 | 16.2 cm | 9.5 | 3 years |
| 27 | 16.8 cm | 10 | 3 to 4 years |
| 28 | 17.5 cm | 11 | 4 years |
| 29 | 18.2 cm | 11.5 | 4 to 5 years |
| 30 | 18.8 cm | 12.5 | 5 years |
| 31 | 19.5 cm | 13 | 5 to 6 years |
| 32 | 20.2 cm | 1 youth | 6 to 7 years |
| 33 | 20.8 cm | 1.5 youth | 7 years |
Age is the weakest signal in that table. Two children born the same week can be three EU sizes apart. Use age only to sanity check a number you already measured.
European sizes are not cut small. An EU size describes the last, the form the shoe is built on, and the last runs longer than the foot inside it. That is why the same child wears EU 25 and US 8.5 and both fit.
What is 13C in Euro size?
A US kids 13, often written 13C, is EU 31. It fits a foot about 19.5 cm long, usually at 5 to 6 years.
What is 11C in Euro size?
A US kids 11, or 11C, is EU 28. It fits a foot about 17.5 cm long, typical at age 4.
Kids shoe size by foot length in cm
If you have already measured the foot, skip the size labels and work straight from centimeters. The first two columns show which size matches the bare measurement. The last column adds the growing room every children's shoe needs, roughly 0.5 to 1 cm, and tells you what to actually order.
| Foot length | EU size | US size | EU size to buy with growing room |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11.5 cm | 19 | 4 | 20 |
| 12.2 cm | 20 | 5 | 21 |
| 12.8 cm | 21 | 5.5 | 22 |
| 13.5 cm | 22 | 6 | 23 |
| 14.2 cm | 23 | 7 | 24 |
| 14.8 cm | 24 | 8 | 25 |
| 15.5 cm | 25 | 8.5 | 26 |
| 16.2 cm | 26 | 9.5 | 27 |
| 16.8 cm | 27 | 10 | 28 |
| 17.5 cm | 28 | 11 | 29 |
| 18.2 cm | 29 | 11.5 | 30 |
| 18.8 cm | 30 | 12.5 | 31 |
| 19.5 cm | 31 | 13 | 32 |
| 20.2 cm | 32 | 1 youth | 33 |
One caution. If you measured the insole of a shoe that currently fits, that insole already includes growing room. Match it to the foot length column and buy that size, not one up.
How to measure the foot at home
Every chart on this page translates one number: foot length in centimeters. Get that number right and the rest is lookup.
- Tape a sheet of paper to the floor, against a wall.
- Stand your child on the paper with the heel touching the wall. Standing matters, because the foot spreads under body weight and a measurement taken while sitting comes out short.
- Mark the paper at the tip of the longest toe. On many children that is the second toe, not the big toe.
- Measure from the edge of the paper at the wall to the mark, in centimeters.
- Repeat for the other foot. Feet are rarely identical. Use the larger one.
Measure late in the day. Feet swell as the day goes on, and a shoe fitted in the morning can feel tight by evening.
How much growing room to add
Add 0.5 to 1 cm to the measured foot length, then pick the EU size closest to that total. Less than 0.5 cm and the shoe is outgrown within weeks. More than 1 cm and the heel slips, which changes how a young child walks.
For a first walking shoe, stay at the lower end. A beginner needs to feel the floor, and a roomy shoe makes that harder.
If the child lands between two sizes, take the larger one in sandals and closed leather shoes, since both stretch a little with wear. Take the smaller one in a soft first walker, where contact with the floor matters more than an extra month of use.
Width: where European brands differ
Conversion charts describe length. They say nothing about width, and width is what usually decides whether a shoe fits. Here is how the brands we carry actually run.
- Cienta makes canvas and velvet styles in Spain and prints one foot length chart for every style, EU 21 to 34. Its EU 27 is 16.7 cm, a touch under the 16.8 in the chart above. Buyer surveys put the mary janes and hook-and-loop styles at 82 to 85 percent true to size and the canvas sneakers, which we don't carry, at 50 to 54. The brand chart, inner sole numbers and fit notes by style are on our Cienta size chart.
- Shoo Pom is French leather and sizes each line on its own last, so EU 27 runs from 15.7 cm in the Goa sandal to 17.0 in the Play boot. The brand marks Bouba, Goa and Joggy as fitting small and Pika as the line for wide feet; a Paris stockist says most lines suit slim and medium feet. Line by line charts are on our Shoo Pom size chart, and the Shoo Pom collection shows what is on hand.
- Aladino, in our sandals collection, makes Spanish leather sandals with an adjustable buckle, which gives you real room to adapt the fit across a season.
- Old Soles uses soft leather with a flexible sole, built for first steps. See the Old Soles collection for the smallest sizes we stock.
Signs the shoe no longer fits
Children rarely say a shoe is too small. They stop wearing it. Check every six to eight weeks up to age three, then every three months, and act when you see any of these.
- Red marks across the top of the foot or on the heel after a normal day.
- Toes curled at the front when the child stands, which you can feel through the upper.
- The child pulls the shoes off as soon as you get home.
- The sole is worn through at the ball of the foot.
Feet grow in bursts, not on a schedule, so a size that fit at the last check can be gone a month later. Remeasuring takes two minutes and costs nothing.
Quick conversions parents search for
What is a US size 6 toddler shoe in European sizing?
US 6 in kids sizing is EU 22. It fits a foot about 13.5 cm long, common at 15 to 18 months.
What shoe size is a 13.5 cm foot?
A 13.5 cm foot matches EU 22, or US 6, on the chart. With growing room added, buy EU 23.
What shoe size is a 19.5 cm foot?
A 19.5 cm foot matches EU 31, which is US 13 in kids sizing. With growing room added, buy EU 32.
What is 20 cm in Euro kids shoe size?
A 20 cm foot sits between EU 31 and EU 32, with EU 32 the closer match. With growing room added, buy EU 33.
What is UK child size 1 in EU?
UK child size 1 is EU 33, which is a US 1.5 in youth sizing. It fits a foot about 20.8 cm long.
All European kids shoes in stock at Capulet Kids are listed in EU sizes, with the exact sizes we have on hand shown on each product page. Browse the full shoes and sandals collection, and if you need clothing sizes translated too, the same logic is covered in our European kids clothing sizes guide.