diff --git a/Python/getargs.c b/Python/getargs.c
index de9cc93..4bcc175 100644
--- a/Python/getargs.c
+++ b/Python/getargs.c
@@ -1252,7 +1252,7 @@
 				arg, msgbuf, bufsize);
 		if (pb == NULL || pb->bf_getbuffer == NULL)
 			return converterr(
-				"string or read-only character buffer",
+				"bytes or read-only character buffer",
 				arg, msgbuf, bufsize);
 
 		if ((*pb->bf_getbuffer)(arg, &view, PyBUF_SIMPLE) != 0)