diff --git a/Python/getargs.c b/Python/getargs.c
index 544948b9285..d24857d29cc 100644
--- a/Python/getargs.c
+++ b/Python/getargs.c
@@ -1108,7 +1108,7 @@ convertsimple(PyObject *arg, const char **p_format, va_list *p_va, int flags,
 								!= size) {
 				Py_DECREF(s);
 				return converterr(
-					"(encoded string without NULL bytes)",
+					"encoded string without NULL bytes",
 					arg, msgbuf, bufsize);
 			}
 			*buffer = PyMem_NEW(char, size + 1);