diff --git a/Doc/c-api/conversion.rst b/Doc/c-api/conversion.rst
index c92ef4c653a675..cc7a3d9d9561a3 100644
--- a/Doc/c-api/conversion.rst
+++ b/Doc/c-api/conversion.rst
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ The return value (*rv*) for these functions should be interpreted as follows:
   ``rv + 1`` bytes would have been needed to succeed. ``str[size-1]`` is ``'\0'``
   in this case.
 
-* When ``rv < 0``, "something bad happened." ``str[size-1]`` is ``'\0'`` in
+* When ``rv < 0``, the output conversion failed and ``str[size-1]`` is ``'\0'`` in
   this case too, but the rest of *str* is undefined. The exact cause of the error
   depends on the underlying platform.