diff --git a/builtin/merge-recursive.c b/builtin/merge-recursive.c
index 3b09610063..0dd9021958 100644
--- a/builtin/merge-recursive.c
+++ b/builtin/merge-recursive.c
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ int cmd_merge_recursive(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 	o.branch2 = better_branch_name(o.branch2);
 
 	if (o.verbosity >= 3)
-		printf("Merging %s with %s\n", o.branch1, o.branch2);
+		printf(_("Merging %s with %s\n"), o.branch1, o.branch2);
 
 	failed = merge_recursive_generic(&o, &h1, &h2, bases_count, bases, &result);
 	if (failed < 0)