diff --git a/src/common/util/translation.c b/src/common/util/translation.c
index 2ee2b38b0..caef94c73 100644
--- a/src/common/util/translation.c
+++ b/src/common/util/translation.c
@@ -390,6 +390,9 @@ translate(const char* format, const void * userdata, const char* vars, variant a
     rv = parse_string(&stack, format, userdata);
   }
   if (rv!=NULL) {
+    if (rv[0]) {
+      log_error(("residual data after parsing: %s\n", rv));
+    }
     rv = (const char*)opop(&stack).v;
     free(stack->begin);
     free(stack);