diff --git a/Makefile.target b/Makefile.target
index 8b658c0..3981931 100644
--- a/Makefile.target
+++ b/Makefile.target
@@ -143,6 +143,8 @@ GENERATED_HEADERS += hmp-commands.h qmp-commands-old.h
 
 endif # CONFIG_SOFTMMU
 
+%/translate.o: CFLAGS := $(patsubst -O2,-O1,$(CFLAGS))
+
 nested-vars += obj-y
 
 # This resolves all nested paths, so it must come last