Is DD Bigger Than E?

The order around DD and E

Why people think DD is bigger

Two letters look like more than one

It is natural to read "DD" as D doubled and therefore very large, and "E" as a single small step. In fact DD is simply the name for the size between D and E. Each of the three is one inch apart.

Other countries label them differently

European sizing does not use DD. It goes D, E, F, so the fifth cup, a UK DD, is called E on the continent. American charts sometimes show that same cup as "DD/E". If you have seen DD and E treated as the same thing, that is where it comes from. Within UK sizing they are two separate sizes.

DD has a reputation

For decades "double D" has been shorthand for a very large bust, largely because older sizing methods put most women into smaller cup letters than they really measured, and many shops stopped at DD. It is the sixth cup on a UK ladder of seventeen, and a very common size.

Only true on the same band

The comparison holds when the band number is the same: a 34E is bigger than a 34DD. Across different bands it changes, because cup letters are relative to the band. A 32E and a 34DD hold the same volume, and a 36DD cup is larger than a 32E cup.

For what each size measures, see the guides to the D cup, the E cup and the F cup.

The full UK sequence, with every double letter in its place, is in UK cup sizes in order.

Frequently asked questions

Is DD the same as E?

In UK sizing, no: E is one cup size bigger than DD. In European sizing, which has no DD, the cup after D is called E, so a UK DD is the same as an EU E. And some American size charts list the cup after D as "DD/E". That overlap is why the two get mixed up.

What is bigger than a DD cup?

In the UK the next cup up is E, then F, FF, G and GG. In the US the next cup up is DDD, which some brands call F.

Is a 34E bigger than a 36DD?

No, they hold the same cup volume. They are sister sizes. The 34E has a shorter band and the 36DD a longer one.