diff --git a/Objects/complexobject.c b/Objects/complexobject.c
index 8ce61b747ea..a2334c9e835 100644
--- a/Objects/complexobject.c
+++ b/Objects/complexobject.c
@@ -785,7 +785,7 @@ static PyObject *
 complex_int(PyObject *v)
 {
 	PyErr_SetString(PyExc_TypeError,
-		   "can't convert complex to int; use int(abs(z))");
+		   "can't convert complex to int");
 	return NULL;
 }
 
@@ -793,7 +793,7 @@ static PyObject *
 complex_long(PyObject *v)
 {
 	PyErr_SetString(PyExc_TypeError,
-		   "can't convert complex to long; use long(abs(z))");
+		   "can't convert complex to long");
 	return NULL;
 }
 
@@ -801,7 +801,7 @@ static PyObject *
 complex_float(PyObject *v)
 {
 	PyErr_SetString(PyExc_TypeError,
-		   "can't convert complex to float; use abs(z)");
+		   "can't convert complex to float");
 	return NULL;
 }