Apple vs Pear: how to tell
The two most-searched shapes are also the two least alike. An apple is widest through the middle; a pear is widest at the hip, with a waist drawn above it.
The two reference forms
Each form is drawn from the measurements on its own page, taped at the four lines the calculator reads. The difference between the two is the difference the rule below measures.
What separates them
Apple and pear get compared constantly, which is odd, because they fail on different tests. A pear is a question about the ends: does the hip measure more than 5% above the larger of bust and shoulder? An apple is a question about the middle: does the waist measure 85% or more of the bust or the hip? A figure can only be an apple if neither end is dominant, so the pear test runs first and the apple test only runs on figures that pass it.
That ordering settles the common confusion. A woman whose waist has softened but whose hip is still clearly wider than her bust is a pear, not an apple. Her waist-to-hip ratio may be high, but the hip still leads the shoulder by more than 5%, and dominance is decided before fullness. The apple reading is reserved for figures where bust and hip are close to level and the fullest measurement falls between them.
Visually the two could not be more different. The apple carries a full bust and a broad ribcage over slim legs, with shoulders and hips close to level. The pear carries a narrow shoulder and a small to medium bust over a hip that is the widest point, with the waist clearly drawn above it. Where weight arrives first is the quickest home check: middle and upper back for an apple, hip and thigh for a pear.
Side by side
| Apple | Pear | |
|---|---|---|
| Widest point | Through the waist and ribcage | At the hip |
| Hip against bust | Close to level | Hip more than 5% larger |
| Waist | 85% or more of bust or hip | Clearly smaller than the hip |
| Legs | Slim relative to the torso | Fuller thigh, weight at the seat |
| Where weight arrives | Middle and upper back | Hip and thigh |
| The deciding test | waist ÷ bust or waist ÷ hip ≥ 0.85 | hip > max(bust, shoulder) × 1.05 |
How to tell at home
- Stand square in a mirror. If your hips are the widest thing you see, you are not an apple
- Put a belt at your natural waist: a pear has a clear dip for it to hold, an apple often does not
- Compare your waist to your bust. Within a few inches of each other says apple; a hand's span smaller says pear
- You buy a bigger bottom than top as a pear, and the same size with a tight waistband as an apple
- A V-neck column dress skims an apple cleanly and sits away from the hip on a pear
No tape measure? The body type quiz asks these comparisons as seven questions you can answer in a mirror, and runs the same rules in the same order.
The deciding test
The rule the calculator applies, with the thresholds it uses.
hip 40 > max(bust, shoulder) 36 × 1.05 → PEAR, tested first · no end leads, waist 34 ÷ bust 38 = 0.89 ≥ 0.85 → APPLE
Every threshold here is published on the methodology page.
Questions
- Am I an apple or a pear body shape?
- Measure bust, waist and hip. If the hip is more than 5% bigger than the larger of your bust and shoulder, you are a pear. If bust and hip are close to level and your waist measures 85% or more of either, you are an apple. If neither fires, you are one of the other four shapes.
- Can you be an apple and a pear at the same time?
- No. The calculator tests hip dominance first, so a figure that qualifies as a pear is never tested for apple. A soft waist on a hip-dominant body is still a pear, and the pear page's styling applies.
- Is apple or pear the more common shape?
- Pear. In the North Carolina State University FFIT study of 6,318 body scans, about 20% of women measured as pears (called triangle in that study), while apple-type readings were far rarer. Rectangle, at 46%, was the most common of all.
Read both
Settle it with your own numbers
Four measurements, one answer, and the comparison that produced it printed underneath so you can check which side of the line you fall.
Run the body shape calculator