diff --git a/apply.c b/apply.c
index 82158742dd..705cf562f0 100644
--- a/apply.c
+++ b/apply.c
@@ -1586,8 +1586,8 @@ static int find_header(struct apply_state *state,
 				patch->new_name = xstrdup(patch->def_name);
 			}
 			if (!patch->is_delete && !patch->new_name) {
-				error("git diff header lacks filename information "
-					     "(line %d)", state->linenr);
+				error(_("git diff header lacks filename information "
+					     "(line %d)"), state->linenr);
 				return -128;
 			}
 			patch->is_toplevel_relative = 1;
diff --git a/t/t4254-am-corrupt.sh b/t/t4254-am-corrupt.sh
index 9bd7dd2ba1..168739c721 100755
--- a/t/t4254-am-corrupt.sh
+++ b/t/t4254-am-corrupt.sh
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ test_expect_success 'try to apply corrupted patch' '
 test_expect_success 'compare diagnostic; ensure file is still here' '
 	echo "error: git diff header lacks filename information (line 4)" >expected &&
 	test_path_is_file f &&
-	test_cmp expected actual
+	test_i18ncmp expected actual
 '
 
 test_done