diff --git a/docs/ref/templates/builtins.txt b/docs/ref/templates/builtins.txt
index b4ca36b5e4..b0bcfc92c5 100644
--- a/docs/ref/templates/builtins.txt
+++ b/docs/ref/templates/builtins.txt
@@ -810,8 +810,8 @@ This would display as "It is the 4th of September".
 
 
 You can also use the syntax ``{% now "Y" as current_year %}`` to store the
-output inside a variable. This is useful if you want to use ``{% now %}``
-inside a template tag like :ttag:`blocktrans` for example::
+output (as a string) inside a variable. This is useful if you want to use
+``{% now %}`` inside a template tag like :ttag:`blocktrans` for example::
 
     {% now "Y" as current_year %}
     {% blocktrans %}Copyright {{ current_year }}{% endblocktrans %}