CHINA BUYER NOTESGuides

Home › Size converter

Chinese Size Converter

Type in a measurement, get the Chinese size. This works from your body rather than from your usual letter size, because that is the only version that survives contact with a real listing.

A converter is a starting point, not an answer. Every Chinese listing publishes its own garment measurements, and those override any chart — including this one.

01The converter

Measure with a soft tape against your body, not over clothing. Centimetres for clothes, millimetres for feet.

Bust circumference for tops, natural waist for bottoms.

Chest circumference for tops, natural waist for bottoms.

Measure standing, heel to wall, mark the longest toe. Subtract nothing — the clearance is built into the chart.

Chinese children's sizes are height in centimetres, not age. Measure the child standing against a wall.

02What the Chinese size code actually says

A Chinese label like 170/92A is not a letter with extra digits. It is three facts in one:

PartMeansExample
170Recommended height, in centimetresSized for someone around 170 cm tall
92Recommended body chest (or waist), in centimetresFits a 92 cm chest — not a 92 cm garment
ABody type, by the difference between chest and waistA is the standard build and covers most people

The body-type letters run Y (slim), A (standard), B (stout), C (heavier). Buying a B cut when you are an A gives you a garment that is wide through the middle and short on the shoulder — the single most common way a "correct" size still looks wrong.

The number that matters is the middle one. Height is a rough guide and most people can wear two adjacent heights happily. The chest or waist figure is the one that decides whether the garment closes.

Popular categories — pick one to start browsing:

ShoesT-ShirtsSports JerseysHoodies & SweatersJacketsPants & ShortsBagsWatchesAccessoriesWigsCraft & DecorAdult

03Women's chart

Body measurements in centimetres. "Garment chest (flat)" is what you will see printed on a listing — it is the pit-to-pit figure doubled, with ease already included.

CN labelCN codeYour bustYour waistGarment chest (flat)Approx US
XS150/76A76–79 cm60–63 cm84–88 cmUS 0–2
S155/80A80–83 cm64–67 cm90–94 cmUS 2–4
M160/84A84–87 cm68–71 cm94–98 cmUS 4–6
L165/88A88–91 cm72–75 cm98–102 cmUS 8–10
XL170/92A92–95 cm76–79 cm102–106 cmUS 12–14
2XL175/96A96–99 cm80–84 cm108–112 cmUS 16
3XL180/100A100–104 cm85–89 cm114–118 cmUS 18
Where this chart will still fail you: a US M bust of 36 inches is 91 cm, which lands on CN L — two letters of apparent difference for a one-centimetre measurement. That is the whole "Chinese sizes run small" myth in a single line.

04Men's chart

Same structure. Note how far the letters drift: the Chinese chest figure that matches a US medium is labelled XL.

CN labelCN codeYour chestYour waistGarment chest (flat)Approx US
S165/88A86–89 cm72–75 cm102–106 cmUS XS
M170/92A90–93 cm76–79 cm106–110 cmUS S
L175/96A94–97 cm80–83 cm110–114 cmUS S–M
XL180/100A98–101 cm84–87 cm114–118 cmUS M
2XL185/104A102–105 cm88–91 cm120–124 cmUS L
3XL190/108A106–109 cm92–96 cm126–130 cmUS XL
4XL195/112A110–114 cm97–101 cm132–136 cmUS 2XL

Chinese bottoms are often sold by waist in chi (尺) rather than centimetres. One chi is 33.3 cm, so 2尺4 is 80 cm, or a US 32 waist. If a listing quotes a two-digit number in the low twenties, you are almost certainly looking at inches; if it quotes 2.2 to 3.2, that is chi.

Popular categories — pick one to start browsing:

ShoesT-ShirtsSports JerseysHoodies & SweatersJacketsPants & ShortsBagsWatchesAccessoriesWigsCraft & DecorAdult

05Shoes: the Chinese size is your foot in millimetres

This is the one place where the Chinese system is simpler than everyone else's. The size number is the foot length in millimetres. A CN 255 is a 255 mm foot. No letter, no half sizes, no regional drift.

The European size follows from it directly: EU = foot length in cm × 2 − 10. So a 25.0 cm foot is an EU 40.

CN sizeFoot lengthEUUS menUS womenUK
22022.0 cm3434.52
22522.5 cm353.552.5
23023.0 cm364.55.53.5
23523.5 cm3756.54
24024.0 cm3867.55
24524.5 cm396.585.5
25025.0 cm4078.56
25525.5 cm4189.57
26026.0 cm428.5107.5
26526.5 cm439.5118.5
27027.0 cm441011.59
27527.5 cm451112.510
28028.0 cm4612—11
28528.5 cm4712.5—11.5
29029.0 cm4813—12
US and UK figures disagree by brand, the CN figure does not. Sports shoes and boots of the same nominal EU size are routinely different lengths because the last shape differs. When a listing gives both a size and a foot length in millimetres, believe the millimetres.

06Children: height, not age

Chinese children's clothing is sized by height in centimetres — 90, 100, 110 and so on. Age is deliberately not used, because two six-year-olds can differ by 20 cm. Measure the child, do not guess from the birthday.

CN sizeChild heightApprox USApprox EUTypical age
8075–85 cm12M12–18M12–18 months
9085–95 cm2T2A2 years
10095–105 cm3T3A3 years
110105–115 cm4T4A4–5 years
120115–125 cm5–66A5–6 years
130125–135 cm7–88A7–8 years
140135–145 cm1010A9–10 years
150145–155 cm1212A11–12 years
160155–165 cm1414A13–14 years

Children's shoe sizing follows the same foot-length rule as adults and is labelled the same way, so a CN 200 is a 20 cm foot with no separate children's scale.

07Five mistakes that make any converter lie to you

  1. Measuring over clothing. A jumper adds 1–2 cm. Enough to move you a whole size at the boundary.
  2. Using a garment measurement as a body measurement. A listing's 110 cm chest is the garment with ease included. Your body chest is not 110 cm.
  3. Converting from your US letter size. Letter sizes are marketing, not measurement. Two US medium garments differ by more than one CN size.
  4. Sizing to your larger measurement on a shared size. If your bust says L and your waist says M, the garment will only fit if it is loose through the waist. For a fitted piece, take the larger; for a loose one, read the garment measurements.
  5. Assuming all Chinese sellers use one chart. They do not. Small studios cut to their own block. This is why the sheet that comes with the listing always wins.
The habit that beats every chart: keep four numbers in your phone from a garment you already own and like — chest, shoulder, length, sleeve. Then a listing is a five-second comparison instead of a gamble. Full method on the Chinese size chart guide.

08Converter questions

Is a Chinese XL the same as a US XL?

No, and the gap is roughly two letters on tops. A Chinese XL for men is a 100 cm chest, which is a US medium. Treat the letters as unrelated between the two systems and convert the centimetres instead.

Why does the same size vary between listings?

Because the label describes the maker's pattern, not a standard. Two sellers can print XL on garments 8 cm apart across the chest. This is exactly why listings publish a measurement table — use it.

Should I size up?

Not by reflex. Size up only if the garment measurements say you must, or if the fabric does not stretch and you are at the top of a range. Blindly sizing up gives you a boxy garment that fits badly in the shoulders.

How accurate are the charts above?

They follow the Chinese national adult sizing standard and match most listings. Individual sellers deviate. Use them to eliminate obviously wrong sizes, then confirm against the listing's own measurements before you pay.

What if the listing has no size chart at all?

Ask the agent to request measurements from the seller, or to have the warehouse lay a tape against the garment during QC — before you pay for international shipping. Most agents will do this on request.

Do these shoe sizes work for boots and heels?

Less well. Heels run narrow and boots are built over a thicker last, so the same foot length can sit a size apart. Add your foot length in millimetres to the order notes so the agent can check the listing directly.

Size sorted. The other half of a disappointing order is quality — and that one is also readable before you pay.

How to judge quality →