diff --git a/docs/ref/templates/api.txt b/docs/ref/templates/api.txt
index 9d2954d22f..48bd346788 100644
--- a/docs/ref/templates/api.txt
+++ b/docs/ref/templates/api.txt
@@ -125,6 +125,10 @@ dot in a variable name, it tries the following lookups, in this order:
 * Attribute lookup. Example: ``foo.bar``
 * List-index lookup. Example: ``foo[bar]``
 
+Note that "bar" in a template expression like ``{{ foo.bar }}`` will be
+interpreted as a literal string and not using the value of the variable "bar",
+if one exists in the template context.
+
 The template system uses the first lookup type that works. It's short-circuit
 logic. Here are a few examples::
 
diff --git a/docs/topics/templates.txt b/docs/topics/templates.txt
index 2fa6643975..af45a8d95b 100644
--- a/docs/topics/templates.txt
+++ b/docs/topics/templates.txt
@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ Use a dot (``.``) to access attributes of a variable.
     attempts to loop over a ``collections.defaultdict``::
 
         {% for k, v in defaultdict.iteritems %}
-	    Do something with k and v here...
+            Do something with k and v here...
         {% endfor %}
 
     Because dictionary lookup happens first, that behavior kicks in and provides
@@ -116,6 +116,10 @@ If you use a variable that doesn't exist, the template system will insert
 the value of the :setting:`TEMPLATE_STRING_IF_INVALID` setting, which is set
 to ``''`` (the empty string) by default.
 
+Note that "bar" in a template expression like ``{{ foo.bar }}`` will be
+interpreted as a literal string and not using the value of the variable "bar",
+if one exists in the template context.
+
 Filters
 =======