diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 098236fed8..c70de65fb4 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ pull_xblock_translations:  ## pull xblock translations via atlas
 
 clean_translations: ## Remove existing translations to prepare for a fresh pull
 	# Removes core edx-platform translations but keeps config files and Esperanto (eo) test translations
-	find conf/locale -mindepth 1 -maxdepth 1 -type d -a ! -name eo -exec rm -rf {} +
+	find conf/locale/ -type f \! -path '*/eo/*' \( -name '*.mo' -o -name '*.po' \) -delete
 	# Removes the xblocks/plugins and js-compiled translations
 	rm -rf conf/plugins-locale cms/static/js/i18n/ lms/static/js/i18n/ cms/static/js/xblock.v1-i18n/ lms/static/js/xblock.v1-i18n/