diff --git a/vlib/v/parser/containers.v b/vlib/v/parser/containers.v
index f925f942b9..aa845db940 100644
--- a/vlib/v/parser/containers.v
+++ b/vlib/v/parser/containers.v
@@ -68,6 +68,9 @@ fn (mut p Parser) array_init() ast.ArrayInit {
 		if exprs.len == 1 && p.tok.kind in [.name, .amp, .lsbr] && p.tok.line_nr == line_nr {
 			// [100]u8
 			elem_type = p.parse_type()
+			if p.table.sym(elem_type).name == 'byte' {
+				p.error('`byte` has been deprecated in favor of `u8`: use `[10]u8` instead of `[10]byte`')
+			}
 			last_pos = p.tok.pos()
 			is_fixed = true
 			if p.tok.kind == .lcbr {