diff --git a/Makefile.am b/Makefile.am
index 37538d38e..407af1ab1 100644
--- a/Makefile.am
+++ b/Makefile.am
@@ -2,3 +2,5 @@ SUBDIRS = lib src data
 
 locale-update:
 	make -C $(top_builddir)/data/locale install-locals
+
+.PHONY: locale-update