diff --git a/src/lib.rs b/src/lib.rs
index fbf25c3..2d05fda 100644
--- a/src/lib.rs
+++ b/src/lib.rs
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ use clap::{Arg, ArgAction, Command};
 use std::ffi::{OsStr, OsString};
 use std::io::{IsTerminal as _, Read};
 use std::path::Path;
-use uucore::error::{ExitCode, FromIo, UResult, USimpleError};
+use uucore::error::{ExitCode, UError, UResult, USimpleError, strip_errno};
 use uucore::show_warning;
 
 #[derive(Clone, Copy, PartialEq, Eq, Debug)]
@@ -128,6 +128,13 @@ pub struct Config<'a> {
     pub color_config: ColorConfig<'a>,
 }
 
+/// A file named by `-f` or `--exclude-from` that cannot be read is a usage
+/// error for GNU grep: it exits 2, unlike the exit 1 of a search that found
+/// nothing.
+fn read_error(label: impl std::fmt::Display, err: &std::io::Error) -> Box<dyn UError> {
+    USimpleError::new(2, format!("{label}: {}", strip_errno(err)))
+}
+
 #[uucore::main(no_signals)]
 pub fn uumain(args: impl uucore::Args) -> UResult<()> {
     let args = expand_num_shorthand(args);
@@ -236,10 +243,10 @@ pub fn uumain(args: impl uucore::Args) -> UResult<()> {
                 let mut buf = String::new();
                 std::io::stdin()
                     .read_to_string(&mut buf)
-                    .map_err_context(|| "(standard input)".to_string())?;
+                    .map_err(|err| read_error("(standard input)", &err))?;
                 buf
             } else {
-                std::fs::read_to_string(path).map_err_context(|| path.to_string())?
+                std::fs::read_to_string(path).map_err(|err| read_error(path, &err))?
             };
             pattern_strings.push(contents);
         }
@@ -342,7 +349,7 @@ pub fn uumain(args: impl uucore::Args) -> UResult<()> {
             patterns.add(pattern)?;
         }
         for path in exclude_from {
-            let contents = std::fs::read_to_string(path).map_err_context(|| path.to_string())?;
+            let contents = std::fs::read_to_string(path).map_err(|err| read_error(path, &err))?;
             for line in contents.lines() {
                 let trimmed = line.trim();
                 if !trimmed.is_empty() {
diff --git a/tests/test_grep.rs b/tests/test_grep.rs
index febcb63..b477329 100644
--- a/tests/test_grep.rs
+++ b/tests/test_grep.rs
@@ -153,6 +153,46 @@ fn reversed_range_endpoints_match_gnu_message() {
     }
 }
 
+#[test]
+fn unreadable_pattern_file_is_error() {
+    // An unreadable -f / --exclude-from file is a usage error (exit 2), not the
+    // exit 1 that means "no match". Only the label is ours: the text after it
+    // is the operating system's, so match it on Unix alone (Windows says
+    // "Access is denied." for a directory).
+    #[cfg(unix)]
+    const DIRECTORY: &str = "adir: Is a directory";
+    #[cfg(not(unix))]
+    const DIRECTORY: &str = "adir: ";
+    #[cfg(unix)]
+    const MISSING: &str = "no-such-pattern-file: No such file or directory";
+    #[cfg(not(unix))]
+    const MISSING: &str = "no-such-pattern-file: ";
+
+    // The pattern file is read before any input, so grep exits without draining
+    // stdin and the harness's write can lose the race with EPIPE.
+    let (scenario, mut c) = ucmd();
+    scenario.fixtures.mkdir("adir");
+    c.args(&["-f", "adir"])
+        .pipe_in("hello\n")
+        .ignore_stdin_write_error()
+        .fails_with_code(2)
+        .stderr_contains(DIRECTORY);
+
+    let (_s, mut c) = ucmd();
+    c.args(&["-f", "no-such-pattern-file"])
+        .pipe_in("hello\n")
+        .ignore_stdin_write_error()
+        .fails_with_code(2)
+        .stderr_contains(MISSING);
+
+    let (_s, mut c) = ucmd();
+    c.args(&["--exclude-from=no-such-pattern-file", "hello"])
+        .pipe_in("hello\n")
+        .ignore_stdin_write_error()
+        .fails_with_code(2)
+        .stderr_contains(MISSING);
+}
+
 #[test]
 fn misspelled_character_class_is_error() {
     // `[:digit:]` is almost certainly a typo for `[[:digit:]]`; GNU rejects it