diff --git a/src/wp-includes/wp-db.php b/src/wp-includes/wp-db.php
index 61492745e7..22fa6aa475 100644
--- a/src/wp-includes/wp-db.php
+++ b/src/wp-includes/wp-db.php
@@ -1132,6 +1132,7 @@ class wpdb {
 
 		$class = get_class( $this );
 		if ( function_exists( '__' ) ) {
+			/* translators: %s: database access abstraction class, usually wpdb or a class extending wpdb */
 			_doing_it_wrong( $class, sprintf( __( '%s must set a database connection for use with escaping.' ), $class ), E_USER_NOTICE );
 		} else {
 			_doing_it_wrong( $class, sprintf( '%s must set a database connection for use with escaping.', $class ), E_USER_NOTICE );