diff --git a/po/Makefile b/po/Makefile
index 5ec4a157c..4d1d33e83 100644
--- a/po/Makefile
+++ b/po/Makefile
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ underlays: ../ikiwiki.out underlays_copy_stamp
 	../ikiwiki.out -libdir .. -setup underlay.setup -refresh
 
 ../ikiwiki.out: ../Makefile
-	make -C .. ikiwiki.out
+	$(MAKE) -C .. ikiwiki.out
 
 ../Makefile: ../Makefile.PL
 	cd .. && ./Makefile.PL