効率
Meaning in Englishefficiency
Animated kanji stroke order
Word context
What it means
What does 効率 mean? It denotes the degree to which inputs are transformed into outputs, capturing how effectively a process or system converts effort into results.
Main meanings
- 能率 (nōritsu) – practical efficiency or throughput in tasks and operations.
- 生産性 (seisansei) – productivity, output per unit input, commonly used in manufacturing and economics.
- 効率性 (kōritsu-sei) – efficiency as a property or quality of a system, method, or process.
How to use it
Used across business, engineering, academia, and daily speech to discuss how well resources are converted into results; common in formal reports and technical writing, often paired with 効率的 to form adjectives like efficient and with 効率を上げる to describe raising efficiency.
Variants and close terms
- 能率 (nōritsu) – efficiency, especially in practical work
- 生産性 (seisansei) – productivity
- 効率性 (kōritsu-sei) – efficiency as a characteristic
Composition
- 効 – meaning effect, efficacy
- 率 – meaning rate, ratio
- Together they express the rate at which an input produces an effect, i.e., efficiency
Etymology
On'yomi formation from Chinese readings of 効 and 率; the current pronunciation kôritsu reflects historical vowel lengthening typical of Sino-Japanese compounds.
Origin
The term entered modern Japanese during the Meiji era with industrialization and administrative reform, where efficiency became a central concept in management, engineering, and economic policy.
Word class
noun (名詞)