diff --git a/Objects/complexobject.c b/Objects/complexobject.c
index 73183676a65..4821d1e3a27 100644
--- a/Objects/complexobject.c
+++ b/Objects/complexobject.c
@@ -504,7 +504,7 @@ complex_div(PyObject *v, PyObject *w)
 	quot = c_quot(a, b);
 	PyFPE_END_PROTECT(quot)
 	if (errno == EDOM) {
-		PyErr_SetString(PyExc_ZeroDivisionError, "complex division");
+		PyErr_SetString(PyExc_ZeroDivisionError, "complex division by zero");
 		return NULL;
 	}
 	return PyComplex_FromCComplex(quot);
diff --git a/Objects/floatobject.c b/Objects/floatobject.c
index 33196ff476d..238022b3bc8 100644
--- a/Objects/floatobject.c
+++ b/Objects/floatobject.c
@@ -570,7 +570,7 @@ float_div(PyObject *v, PyObject *w)
 #ifdef Py_NAN
 	if (b == 0.0) {
 		PyErr_SetString(PyExc_ZeroDivisionError,
-				"float division");
+				"float division by zero");
 		return NULL;
 	}
 #endif