diff --git a/lisp/gnus/nnir.el b/lisp/gnus/nnir.el
index 05b2f0aa8a7..0062cd85893 100644
--- a/lisp/gnus/nnir.el
+++ b/lisp/gnus/nnir.el
@@ -969,6 +969,7 @@ details on the language and supported extensions."
          (mapcar
           #'(lambda (group)
             (let (artlist)
+	      (setq group (nnimap-decode-gnus-group group))
               (condition-case ()
                   (when (nnimap-change-group
                          (gnus-group-short-name group) server)