diff --git a/docs/topics/i18n/translation.txt b/docs/topics/i18n/translation.txt
index 87fcf07eace..79bd1a6a6a1 100644
--- a/docs/topics/i18n/translation.txt
+++ b/docs/topics/i18n/translation.txt
@@ -37,6 +37,13 @@ from your :setting:`TEMPLATE_CONTEXT_PROCESSORS` setting.
     controls if Django should implement format localization. See
     :doc:`/topics/i18n/formatting` for more details.
 
+.. note::
+
+    Make sure you've activated translation for your project (the fastest way is
+    to check if :setting:`MIDDLEWARE_CLASSES` includes
+    :mod:`django.middleware.locale.LocaleMiddleware`). If you haven't yet,
+    see :ref:`how-django-discovers-language-preference`.
+
 Internationalization: in Python code
 ====================================