diff --git a/src/error.rs b/src/error.rs
index 2a0bcd9bd5..93f20f42f3 100644
--- a/src/error.rs
+++ b/src/error.rs
@@ -278,8 +278,18 @@ impl ErrorMessage {
             None => (Span::call_site(), Span::call_site()),
         };
 
-        // core::compile_error!($message)
+        // ::core::compile_error!($message)
         TokenStream::from_iter(vec![
+            TokenTree::Punct({
+                let mut punct = Punct::new(':', Spacing::Joint);
+                punct.set_span(start);
+                punct
+            }),
+            TokenTree::Punct({
+                let mut punct = Punct::new(':', Spacing::Alone);
+                punct.set_span(start);
+                punct
+            }),
             TokenTree::Ident(Ident::new("core", start)),
             TokenTree::Punct({
                 let mut punct = Punct::new(':', Spacing::Joint);