diff --git a/Lib/gettext.py b/Lib/gettext.py
index 2f77f0e849e9ae..1fbdacc3eada7d 100644
--- a/Lib/gettext.py
+++ b/Lib/gettext.py
@@ -119,8 +119,9 @@ def _error(value):
 def _parse(tokens, priority=-1):
     result = ''
     nexttok = next(tokens)
+    negations = 0
     while nexttok == '!':
-        result += 'not '
+        negations += 1
         nexttok = next(tokens)
 
     if nexttok == '(':
@@ -136,6 +137,11 @@ def _parse(tokens, priority=-1):
         except ValueError:
             raise _error(nexttok) from None
         result = '%s%d' % (result, value)
+    # In C the unary '!' binds tighter than any binary operator, but Python's
+    # 'not' binds looser, so negate the operand as a parenthesised unit before
+    # the binary-operator loop below ('!n + 1' means '(!n) + 1', not '!(n + 1)').
+    for _ in range(negations):
+        result = '(not %s)' % result
     nexttok = next(tokens)
 
     j = 100
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_gettext.py b/Lib/test/test_gettext.py
index 9ad37909a8ec4e..6e09fe8f58a8cf 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_gettext.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_gettext.py
@@ -613,6 +613,19 @@ def test_negation(self):
         self.assertEqual(f(1), 0)
         self.assertEqual(f(2), 0)
 
+    def test_negation_precedence(self):
+        # gh-157451: in C the unary '!' binds tighter than any binary
+        # operator, so '!n + 1' is '(!n) + 1', not '!(n + 1)'.
+        f = gettext.c2py('!n + 1')
+        self.assertEqual(f(0), 2)
+        self.assertEqual(f(1), 1)
+        self.assertEqual(gettext.c2py('!n < 3')(0), 1)
+        self.assertEqual(gettext.c2py('!n * 2')(0), 2)
+        self.assertEqual(gettext.c2py('!n * 2')(1), 0)
+        # Double negation still normalises to 0/1 (C semantics).
+        self.assertEqual(gettext.c2py('!!n')(5), 1)
+        self.assertEqual(gettext.c2py('!!n')(0), 0)
+
     def test_nested_condition_operator(self):
         self.assertEqual(gettext.c2py('n?1?2:3:4')(0), 4)
         self.assertEqual(gettext.c2py('n?1?2:3:4')(1), 2)
diff --git a/Misc/NEWS.d/next/Library/2026-09-14-00-30-00.gh-issue-157451.k7Qm2x.rst b/Misc/NEWS.d/next/Library/2026-09-14-00-30-00.gh-issue-157451.k7Qm2x.rst
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000000..cbeb545a061b4c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Misc/NEWS.d/next/Library/2026-09-14-00-30-00.gh-issue-157451.k7Qm2x.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+Fix :func:`gettext.c2py` mistranslating the unary ``!`` operator when it is
+followed by a binary operator (for example ``!n + 1``). ``!`` binds tighter
+than any binary operator in C, so the operand is now negated as a
+self-contained unit, matching the C semantics used by ``Plural-Forms`` rules.