diff --git a/tools/virt-host-validate-qemu.c b/tools/virt-host-validate-qemu.c
index b96b020854..eb08e7edda 100644
--- a/tools/virt-host-validate-qemu.c
+++ b/tools/virt-host-validate-qemu.c
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ int virHostValidateQEMU(void)
     virBitmapPtr flags;
     int ret = 0;
 
-    virHostMsgCheck("QEMU", "%s", ("for hardware virtualization"));
+    virHostMsgCheck("QEMU", "%s", _("for hardware virtualization"));
 
     flags = virHostValidateGetCPUFlags();