diff --git a/trailer.c b/trailer.c
index 94b387b499..8e48a5c990 100644
--- a/trailer.c
+++ b/trailer.c
@@ -234,7 +234,7 @@ static const char *apply_command(const char *command, const char *arg)
 	cp.use_shell = 1;
 
 	if (capture_command(&cp, &buf, 1024)) {
-		error("running trailer command '%s' failed", cmd.buf);
+		error(_("running trailer command '%s' failed"), cmd.buf);
 		strbuf_release(&buf);
 		result = xstrdup("");
 	} else {