diff --git a/src/internationalization/PhutilTranslator.php b/src/internationalization/PhutilTranslator.php
--- a/src/internationalization/PhutilTranslator.php
+++ b/src/internationalization/PhutilTranslator.php
@@ -98,6 +98,10 @@
       $result = phutil_safe_html($result);
     }
 
+    if(empty($result)) {
+      $result = vsprintf($text, $args);
+    }
+
     return $result;
   }