‘转化率’ (zhuǎn huà lǜ) literally means ‘transformation rate’ — combining 转 (to turn, shift), 化 (to change, transform), and 率 (rate, ratio). It refers to the percentage of people or items that successfully complete a desired action after an initial interaction — for example, how many website visitors actually make a purchase, or how many users sign up after seeing an ad. The term is widely used in business, marketing, e-commerce, and data analytics.

Unlike general terms like ‘rate’ or ‘percentage’, 转化率 specifically measures effectiveness of a process designed to elicit a behavioral response. It’s always expressed as a percentage (e.g., 5.2%) and calculated as (number of conversions ÷ total number of opportunities) × 100%. While it originated in commercial contexts, it’s now also applied in education (e.g., enrollment conversion rate) and public health (e.g., screening-to-treatment conversion rate).