diff --git a/builtin/difftool.c b/builtin/difftool.c
index bcc79d1888..91dbef8f49 100644
--- a/builtin/difftool.c
+++ b/builtin/difftool.c
@@ -703,7 +703,7 @@ int cmd_difftool(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 			NULL, 1 },
 		OPT_BOOL(0, "symlinks", &symlinks,
 			 N_("use symlinks in dir-diff mode")),
-		OPT_STRING('t', "tool", &difftool_cmd, N_("<tool>"),
+		OPT_STRING('t', "tool", &difftool_cmd, N_("tool"),
 			   N_("use the specified diff tool")),
 		OPT_BOOL(0, "tool-help", &tool_help,
 			 N_("print a list of diff tools that may be used with "
@@ -711,7 +711,7 @@ int cmd_difftool(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 		OPT_BOOL(0, "trust-exit-code", &trust_exit_code,
 			 N_("make 'git-difftool' exit when an invoked diff "
 			    "tool returns a non - zero exit code")),
-		OPT_STRING('x', "extcmd", &extcmd, N_("<command>"),
+		OPT_STRING('x', "extcmd", &extcmd, N_("command"),
 			   N_("specify a custom command for viewing diffs")),
 		OPT_END()
 	};