diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 120d3c12ca..3dec8b83e2 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -129,11 +129,11 @@ diffcore-pathspec.o : $(LIB_H) diffcore.h
 diffcore-pickaxe.o : $(LIB_H) diffcore.h
 
 test: all
-	make -C t/ all
+	$(MAKE) -C t/ all
 
 clean:
 	rm -f *.o mozilla-sha1/*.o ppc/*.o $(PROG) $(LIB_FILE)
-	make -C Documentation/ clean
+	$(MAKE) -C Documentation/ clean
 
 backup: clean
 	cd .. ; tar czvf dircache.tar.gz dir-cache