diff --git a/kitty/config.py b/kitty/config.py
index a93b5b3f3..a037906d7 100644
--- a/kitty/config.py
+++ b/kitty/config.py
@@ -466,7 +466,7 @@ def initial_window_size(opts, cached_values):
 
 
 def commented_out_default_config():
-    with open(default_config_path, encoding='utf-8', errors='ignore') as f:
+    with open(default_config_path, encoding='utf-8', errors='replace') as f:
         config = f.read()
     lines = []
     for line in config.splitlines():
diff --git a/kitty/config_utils.py b/kitty/config_utils.py
index 5de7ec1af..6e8d8976c 100644
--- a/kitty/config_utils.py
+++ b/kitty/config_utils.py
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ def parse_config_base(
 
 
 def init_config(defaults_path, parse_config):
-    with open(defaults_path, encoding='utf-8') as f:
+    with open(defaults_path, encoding='utf-8', errors='replace') as f:
         defaults = parse_config(f.read().splitlines(), check_keys=False)
     Options = namedtuple('Defaults', ','.join(defaults.keys()))
     defaults = Options(**defaults)