You found the sneaker you want, but the listing shows a men's size and you normally buy women's — or the reverse. Don't overthink it. For adidas there's one rule that gets you there, and a full conversion chart below to double-check any size in US, UK, EU, or centimeters. At West Coast Deals a large share of our adidas listings are cut on men's or unisex lasts, so knowing this conversion is the difference between a pair that fits and a return.
The adidas rule: women's = men's + 1
For adidas, to go from a men's size to a women's size, add one. A men's 8 is a women's 9. A men's 9.5 is a women's 10.5. To go the other way — women's to men's — subtract one. A women's 8 is a men's 7. That's it. The physical shoe is the same length; only the number printed on the box changes, because men's and women's US sizing use different starting points.
Name the brand before you use an offset. The +1 above is the adidas number, and it's the one the chart below reflects. It is not a universal rule — see the next section.
Why adidas is 1, and most other brands are 1.5
You'll see the internet quote a 1.5-size difference, and for a lot of brands that's correct: Nike, New Balance, and most other athletic brands run a 1.5-size offset between men's and women's. adidas is the outlier at 1, which is what its own size charts use and what our warehouse hang tags confirm. So the conversion you need depends entirely on whose shoe you're buying — don't carry the adidas number across to a Nike listing, or the Nike number across to an adidas one. If you're ever unsure, skip the men's/women's numbers entirely and match your foot length in centimeters, which is identical for everyone.
Men's to women's shoe size conversion chart (adidas)
This chart uses the adidas +1 offset. Find your size in any column and read across. The CM column is your foot length in centimeters — the one measurement that never changes between men's, women's, brands, or regions, so it's the safest column to shop from.
| US Men | US Women | UK | EU | CM | Inches |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 5 | 3.5 | 36 | 22.1 | 8.7 |
| 4.5 | 5.5 | 4 | 36.7 | 22.5 | 8.9 |
| 5 | 6 | 4.5 | 37.3 | 22.9 | 9 |
| 5.5 | 6.5 | 5 | 38 | 23.3 | 9.2 |
| 6 | 7 | 5.5 | 38.7 | 23.8 | 9.4 |
| 6.5 | 7.5 | 6 | 39.3 | 24.2 | 9.5 |
| 7 | 8 | 6.5 | 40 | 24.6 | 9.7 |
| 7.5 | 8.5 | 7 | 40.7 | 25 | 9.8 |
| 8 | 9 | 7.5 | 41.3 | 25.5 | 10 |
| 8.5 | 9.5 | 8 | 42 | 25.9 | 10.2 |
| 9 | 10 | 8.5 | 42.7 | 26.3 | 10.4 |
| 9.5 | 10.5 | 9 | 43.3 | 26.7 | 10.5 |
| 10 | 11 | 9.5 | 44 | 27.1 | 10.7 |
| 10.5 | 11.5 | 10 | 44.7 | 27.6 | 10.9 |
| 11 | 12 | 10.5 | 45.3 | 28 | 11 |
| 11.5 | 12.5 | 11 | 46 | 28.4 | 11.2 |
| 12 | 13 | 11.5 | 46.7 | 28.8 | 11.3 |
| 12.5 | 13.5 | 12 | 47.3 | 29.3 | 11.5 |
| 13 | 14 | 12.5 | 48 | 29.7 | 11.7 |
| 13.5 | 14.5 | 13 | 48.7 | 30.1 | 11.9 |
| 14 | 15 | 13.5 | 49.3 | 30.5 | 12 |
| 15 | 16 | 14.5 | 50.7 | 31.4 | 12.4 |
How to read a men's listing if you wear women's sizes
Say you normally wear a women's 9 and you're shopping adidas. Subtract one: you want the men's 8. If a listing only offers half sizes around it, the centimeter column is your tiebreaker — a women's 9 is 25.5 cm, so grab whatever men's size matches 25.5 cm. This is exactly how to shop the many adidas classics — Sambas, Gazelles, Superstars — that get listed in men's sizing. It opens up the full size run instead of limiting you to women's-only listings. On a Nike or New Balance listing, run the same logic with their 1.5 offset instead.
Does the shoe itself change between men's and women's?
For most sneakers sold as unisex, no — it's the same shoe, same last, same width, just labeled with the men's number. Some women's-specific models are built on a slightly narrower last with a different footbed, but the classic adidas terrace and running silhouettes we carry are overwhelmingly unisex. That's why the +1 conversion works so cleanly for them: you're buying the identical shoe, only reading a different number.
Still not sure? Check the model's fit
Conversion gets you the right length; the model still decides how snug it feels. The adidas classics are narrow shoes, not roomy ones. The Samba runs slightly long and narrow, so standard and narrow feet go down half a size and wide feet stay true — nobody sizes up in a Samba. The Superstar sits on a narrow last too, with the vamp pulling in over the rigid shell toe: true to size for standard-width feet, and wide feet either stay true and add a heel grip or go down half for a locked heel, but never up. The genuinely roomy adidas classics are the Campus 00s and the Handball Spezial. Once you've converted your number, confirm it against the specific pair with our adidas size chart and fit guide or the model-by-model Do adidas Run Small? breakdown. For specific silhouettes, our Samba sizing guide and Superstar up-or-down guide go deeper.
Every pair from West Coast Deals is authenticated in-house and shipped fast from Portland, Oregon — so once you've converted to the right size, the pair on the box is exactly what lands at your door.
— Anthony from West Coast Deals