diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 818a0ab45c..c8054507e9 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -126,6 +126,9 @@ ifeq ($(uname_S),Darwin)
 		GITGUI_MACOSXAPP := YesPlease
 	endif
 endif
+ifneq (,$(findstring MINGW,$(uname_S)))
+	NO_MSGFMT=1
+endif
 
 ifdef GITGUI_MACOSXAPP
 GITGUI_MAIN := git-gui.tcl