diff --git a/source/common/messagepattern.cpp b/source/common/messagepattern.cpp
index 82cb638e..08474597 100644
--- a/source/common/messagepattern.cpp
+++ b/source/common/messagepattern.cpp
@@ -437,7 +437,7 @@ MessagePattern::parseMessage(int32_t index, int32_t msgStartLength,
     if(U_FAILURE(errorCode)) {
         return 0;
     }
-    if(nestingLevel>Part::MAX_VALUE) {
+    if(nestingLevel>Part::MAX_NESTED_LEVELS) {
         errorCode=U_INDEX_OUTOFBOUNDS_ERROR;
         return 0;
     }
diff --git a/source/common/unicode/messagepattern.h b/source/common/unicode/messagepattern.h
index 55b09bfb..daa7b623 100644
--- a/source/common/unicode/messagepattern.h
+++ b/source/common/unicode/messagepattern.h
@@ -821,6 +821,7 @@ public:
 
         static const int32_t MAX_LENGTH=0xffff;
         static const int32_t MAX_VALUE=0x7fff;
+        static const int32_t MAX_NESTED_LEVELS=0x03ff;
 
         // Some fields are not final because they are modified during pattern parsing.
         // After pattern parsing, the parts are effectively immutable.