diff --git a/src/command/command.c b/src/command/command.c
index b2a4c438..f6205169 100644
--- a/src/command/command.c
+++ b/src/command/command.c
@@ -133,7 +133,12 @@ static struct cmd_t command_defs[] =
CMD_SYN(
"/help [|]")
CMD_DESC(
- "Help on using Profanity. Passing no arguments list help areas.")
+ "Help on using Profanity. Passing no arguments list help areas. "
+ "For command help, optional arguments are shown using square brackets e.g. [argument], "
+ "arguments representing variables rather than a literal name are surrounded by angle brackets "
+ "e.g. . "
+ "Arguments that may be one of a number of values are separated by a pipe "
+ "e.g. val1|val2|val3.")
CMD_ARGS(
{ "", "Summary help for commands in a certain area of functionality." },
{ "", "Full help for a specific command, for example '/help connect'." })