diff --git a/src/core/main.c b/src/core/main.c
index ab545a6421d..f36f6c4c9e9 100644
--- a/src/core/main.c
+++ b/src/core/main.c
@@ -1004,7 +1004,7 @@ static int parse_argv(int argc, char *argv[]) {
 
                         fd = parse_fd(optarg);
                         if (fd == -ERANGE)
-                                return log_error_errno(fd, "Invalid deserialize fd: %s", optarg);
+                                return log_error_errno(fd, "Invalid serialization fd: %s", optarg);
                         if (fd < 0)
                                 return log_error_errno(fd, "Failed to parse deserialize option \"%s\": %m", optarg);