diff --git a/CHANGELOG.rst b/CHANGELOG.rst
index 04aeaa3c5..b2781824a 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.rst
+++ b/CHANGELOG.rst
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ fish 3.5.1 (released ???)
 This release of fish introduces the following small enhancements:
 
 - Cursor shaping for Vi mode is enabled by default in tmux, and will be used if the outer terminal is capable (:issue:`8981`).
+- ``printf`` returns a better error when used with arguments interpreted as octal numbers (:issue:`9035`).
 
 This release also fixes a number of problems identified in fish 3.5.0.
 
diff --git a/src/builtins/printf.cpp b/src/builtins/printf.cpp
index d5b8e81aa..338e69a4c 100644
--- a/src/builtins/printf.cpp
+++ b/src/builtins/printf.cpp
@@ -263,6 +263,12 @@ void builtin_printf_state_t::verify_numeric(const wchar_t *s, const wchar_t *end
         } else {
             // This isn't entirely fatal - the value should still be printed.
             this->nonfatal_error(_(L"%ls: value not completely converted (can't convert '%ls')"), s, end);
+            // Warn about octal numbers as they can be confusing.
+            // Do it if the unconverted digit is a valid hex digit,
+            // because it could also be an "0x" -> "0" typo.
+            if (*s == L'0' && iswxdigit(*end)) {
+                this->nonfatal_error(_(L"Hint: a leading '0' without an 'x' indicates an octal number"), s, end);
+            }
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/tests/checks/printf.fish b/tests/checks/printf.fish
index 5c6f13405..6b7d52795 100644
--- a/tests/checks/printf.fish
+++ b/tests/checks/printf.fish
@@ -95,3 +95,27 @@ printf '%d\n' 15.1
 # CHECKERR: 15.1: value not completely converted (can't convert '.1')
 echo $status
 # CHECK: 1
+
+printf '%d\n' 07
+# CHECK: 7
+echo $status
+# CHECK: 0
+printf '%d\n' 08
+# CHECK: 0
+# CHECKERR: 08: value not completely converted (can't convert '8')
+# CHECKERR: Hint: a leading '0' without an 'x' indicates an octal number
+echo $status
+# CHECK: 1
+
+printf '%d\n' 0f
+# CHECK: 0
+# CHECKERR: 0f: value not completely converted (can't convert 'f')
+# CHECKERR: Hint: a leading '0' without an 'x' indicates an octal number
+echo $status
+# CHECK: 1
+
+printf '%d\n' 0g
+# CHECK: 0
+# CHECKERR: 0g: value not completely converted (can't convert 'g')
+echo $status
+# CHECK: 1