diff --git a/builtin-show-branch.c b/builtin-show-branch.c
index 828e6f86de..c3afabbe91 100644
--- a/builtin-show-branch.c
+++ b/builtin-show-branch.c
@@ -576,7 +576,7 @@ static void parse_reflog_param(const char *arg, int *cnt, const char **base)
 	if (*ep == ',')
 		*base = ep + 1;
 	else if (*ep)
-		die("unrecognized reflog param '%s'", arg + 9);
+		die("unrecognized reflog param '%s'", arg);
 	else
 		*base = NULL;
 	if (*cnt <= 0)