diff --git a/mailmap.c b/mailmap.c
index f4a0f1cf27..da4e49aac8 100644
--- a/mailmap.c
+++ b/mailmap.c
@@ -189,8 +189,7 @@ static int read_mailmap_file(struct string_list *map, const char *filename,
 	if (!f) {
 		if (errno == ENOENT)
 			return 0;
-		return error("unable to open mailmap at %s: %s",
-			     filename, strerror(errno));
+		return error_errno("unable to open mailmap at %s", filename);
 	}
 
 	while (fgets(buffer, sizeof(buffer), f) != NULL)