diff --git a/parse-options.c b/parse-options.c
index 8904345c074842..3ff6a5d1fac125 100644
--- a/parse-options.c
+++ b/parse-options.c
@@ -1076,23 +1076,48 @@ static int usage_argh(const struct option *opts, FILE *outfile)
 		!opts->argh || !!strpbrk(opts->argh, "()<>[]|");
 	if (opts->flags & PARSE_OPT_OPTARG)
 		if (opts->long_name)
-			s = literal ? "[=%s]" :
-			  /* TRANSLATORS: %s is a command line argument name, `<>' prompt the user to supply a value for it.
-			     Change only the `<>' characters to something else if you use another convention for this.
-			     Most translations leave this message as is. */
-			  _("[=<%s>]");
+			/*
+			 * TRANSLATORS: The "<%s>" part of this string
+			 * stands for an optional value given to a command
+			 * line option in the long form, and "<>" is there
+			 * as a convention to signal that it is a
+			 * placeholder (i.e. the user should substitute it
+			 * with the real value).  If your language uses a
+			 * different convention, you can change "<%s>" part
+			 * to match yours, e.g. it might use "|%s|" instead,
+			 * or if the alphabet is different enough it may use
+			 * "%s" without any placeholder signal.  Most
+			 * translations leave this message as is.
+			 */
+			s = literal ? "[=%s]" : _("[=<%s>]");
 		else
-			s = literal ? "[%s]" :
-			  /* TRANSLATORS: %s is a command line argument name, `<>' prompt the user to supply a value for it.
-			     Change only the `<>' characters to something else if you use another convention for this.
-			     Most translations leave this message as is. */
-			  _("[<%s>]");
+			/*
+			 * TRANSLATORS: The "<%s>" part of this string
+			 * stands for an optional value given to a command
+			 * line option in the short form, and "<>" is there
+			 * as a convention to signal that it is a
+			 * placeholder (i.e. the user should substitute it
+			 * with the real value).  If your language uses a
+			 * different convention, you can change "<%s>" part
+			 * to match yours, e.g. it might use "|%s|" instead,
+			 * or if the alphabet is different enough it may use
+			 * "%s" without any placeholder signal.  Most
+			 * translations leave this message as is.
+			 */
+			s = literal ? "[%s]" : _("[<%s>]");
 	else
-		s = literal ? " %s" :
-		  /* TRANSLATORS: %s is a command line argument name, `<>' prompt the user to supply a value for it.
-		     Change only the `<>' characters to something else if you use another convention for this.
-		     Most translations leave this message as is. */
-		  _(" <%s>");
+		/*
+		 * TRANSLATORS: The "<%s>" part of this string stands for a
+		 * value given to a command line option, and "<>" is there
+		 * as a convention to signal that it is a placeholder
+		 * (i.e. the user should substitute it with the real value).
+		 * If your language uses a different convention, you can
+		 * change "<%s>" part to match yours, e.g. it might use
+		 * "|%s|" instead, or if the alphabet is different enough it
+		 * may use "%s" without any placeholder signal.  Most
+		 * translations leave this message as is.
+		 */
+		s = literal ? " %s" : _(" <%s>");
 	return utf8_fprintf(outfile, s, opts->argh ? _(opts->argh) : _("..."));
 }