diff --git a/Documentation/config/advice.txt b/Documentation/config/advice.txt
index acbd0c09aa..d53eafa00b 100644
--- a/Documentation/config/advice.txt
+++ b/Documentation/config/advice.txt
@@ -119,4 +119,7 @@ advice.*::
 	addEmptyPathspec::
 		Advice shown if a user runs the add command without providing
 		the pathspec parameter.
+	updateSparsePath::
+		Advice shown if the pathspec given to linkgit:git-add[1] only
+		matches index entries outside the current sparse-checkout.
 --
diff --git a/advice.c b/advice.c
index 164742305f..cf22c1a6e5 100644
--- a/advice.c
+++ b/advice.c
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 #include "config.h"
 #include "color.h"
 #include "help.h"
+#include "string-list.h"
 
 int advice_fetch_show_forced_updates = 1;
 int advice_push_update_rejected = 1;
@@ -136,6 +137,7 @@ static struct {
 	[ADVICE_STATUS_HINTS]				= { "statusHints", 1 },
 	[ADVICE_STATUS_U_OPTION]			= { "statusUoption", 1 },
 	[ADVICE_SUBMODULE_ALTERNATE_ERROR_STRATEGY_DIE] = { "submoduleAlternateErrorStrategyDie", 1 },
+	[ADVICE_UPDATE_SPARSE_PATH]			= { "updateSparsePath", 1 },
 	[ADVICE_WAITING_FOR_EDITOR]			= { "waitingForEditor", 1 },
 };
 
@@ -284,6 +286,23 @@ void NORETURN die_conclude_merge(void)
 	die(_("Exiting because of unfinished merge."));
 }
 
+void advise_on_updating_sparse_paths(struct string_list *pathspec_list)
+{
+	struct string_list_item *item;
+
+	if (!pathspec_list->nr)
+		return;
+
+	fprintf(stderr, _("The following pathspecs only matched index entries outside the current\n"
+			  "sparse checkout:\n"));
+	for_each_string_list_item(item, pathspec_list)
+		fprintf(stderr, "%s\n", item->string);
+
+	advise_if_enabled(ADVICE_UPDATE_SPARSE_PATH,
+			  _("Disable or modify the sparsity rules if you intend to update such entries."));
+
+}
+
 void detach_advice(const char *new_name)
 {
 	const char *fmt =
diff --git a/advice.h b/advice.h
index bc2432980a..bd26c385d0 100644
--- a/advice.h
+++ b/advice.h
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@
 
 #include "git-compat-util.h"
 
+struct string_list;
+
 extern int advice_fetch_show_forced_updates;
 extern int advice_push_update_rejected;
 extern int advice_push_non_ff_current;
@@ -71,6 +73,7 @@ extern int advice_add_empty_pathspec;
 	ADVICE_STATUS_HINTS,
 	ADVICE_STATUS_U_OPTION,
 	ADVICE_SUBMODULE_ALTERNATE_ERROR_STRATEGY_DIE,
+	ADVICE_UPDATE_SPARSE_PATH,
 	ADVICE_WAITING_FOR_EDITOR,
 };
 
@@ -92,6 +95,7 @@ void advise_if_enabled(enum advice_type type, const char *advice, ...);
 int error_resolve_conflict(const char *me);
 void NORETURN die_resolve_conflict(const char *me);
 void NORETURN die_conclude_merge(void);
+void advise_on_updating_sparse_paths(struct string_list *pathspec_list);
 void detach_advice(const char *new_name);
 
 #endif /* ADVICE_H */
diff --git a/builtin/add.c b/builtin/add.c
index 9f0f6ebaff..b556c566c3 100644
--- a/builtin/add.c
+++ b/builtin/add.c
@@ -170,24 +170,41 @@ static char *prune_directory(struct dir_struct *dir, struct pathspec *pathspec,
 			*dst++ = entry;
 	}
 	dir->nr = dst - dir->entries;
-	add_pathspec_matches_against_index(pathspec, &the_index, seen, 0);
+	add_pathspec_matches_against_index(pathspec, &the_index, seen, 1);
 	return seen;
 }
 
-static void refresh(int verbose, const struct pathspec *pathspec)
+static int refresh(int verbose, const struct pathspec *pathspec)
 {
 	char *seen;
-	int i;
+	int i, ret = 0;
+	char *skip_worktree_seen = NULL;
+	struct string_list only_match_skip_worktree = STRING_LIST_INIT_NODUP;
 
 	seen = xcalloc(pathspec->nr, 1);
 	refresh_index(&the_index, verbose ? REFRESH_IN_PORCELAIN : REFRESH_QUIET,
 		      pathspec, seen, _("Unstaged changes after refreshing the index:"));
 	for (i = 0; i < pathspec->nr; i++) {
-		if (!seen[i])
-			die(_("pathspec '%s' did not match any files"),
-			    pathspec->items[i].original);
+		if (!seen[i]) {
+			if (matches_skip_worktree(pathspec, i, &skip_worktree_seen)) {
+				string_list_append(&only_match_skip_worktree,
+						   pathspec->items[i].original);
+			} else {
+				die(_("pathspec '%s' did not match any files"),
+				    pathspec->items[i].original);
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	if (only_match_skip_worktree.nr) {
+		advise_on_updating_sparse_paths(&only_match_skip_worktree);
+		ret = 1;
 	}
+
 	free(seen);
+	free(skip_worktree_seen);
+	string_list_clear(&only_match_skip_worktree, 0);
+	return ret;
 }
 
 int run_add_interactive(const char *revision, const char *patch_mode,
@@ -563,15 +580,17 @@ int cmd_add(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 	}
 
 	if (refresh_only) {
-		refresh(verbose, &pathspec);
+		exit_status |= refresh(verbose, &pathspec);
 		goto finish;
 	}
 
 	if (pathspec.nr) {
 		int i;
+		char *skip_worktree_seen = NULL;
+		struct string_list only_match_skip_worktree = STRING_LIST_INIT_NODUP;
 
 		if (!seen)
-			seen = find_pathspecs_matching_against_index(&pathspec, &the_index, 0);
+			seen = find_pathspecs_matching_against_index(&pathspec, &the_index, 1);
 
 		/*
 		 * file_exists() assumes exact match
@@ -585,12 +604,20 @@ int cmd_add(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 
 		for (i = 0; i < pathspec.nr; i++) {
 			const char *path = pathspec.items[i].match;
+
 			if (pathspec.items[i].magic & PATHSPEC_EXCLUDE)
 				continue;
-			if (!seen[i] && path[0] &&
-			    ((pathspec.items[i].magic &
-			      (PATHSPEC_GLOB | PATHSPEC_ICASE)) ||
-			     !file_exists(path))) {
+			if (seen[i] || !path[0])
+				continue;
+
+			if (matches_skip_worktree(&pathspec, i, &skip_worktree_seen)) {
+				string_list_append(&only_match_skip_worktree,
+						   pathspec.items[i].original);
+				continue;
+			}
+
+			if ((pathspec.items[i].magic & (PATHSPEC_GLOB | PATHSPEC_ICASE)) ||
+			    !file_exists(path)) {
 				if (ignore_missing) {
 					int dtype = DT_UNKNOWN;
 					if (is_excluded(&dir, &the_index, path, &dtype))
@@ -601,7 +628,16 @@ int cmd_add(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 					    pathspec.items[i].original);
 			}
 		}
+
+
+		if (only_match_skip_worktree.nr) {
+			advise_on_updating_sparse_paths(&only_match_skip_worktree);
+			exit_status = 1;
+		}
+
 		free(seen);
+		free(skip_worktree_seen);
+		string_list_clear(&only_match_skip_worktree, 0);
 	}
 
 	plug_bulk_checkin();
diff --git a/pathspec.c b/pathspec.c
index e5e6b7458d..61f294fed5 100644
--- a/pathspec.c
+++ b/pathspec.c
@@ -62,6 +62,21 @@ char *find_pathspecs_matching_against_index(const struct pathspec *pathspec,
 	return seen;
 }
 
+char *find_pathspecs_matching_skip_worktree(const struct pathspec *pathspec)
+{
+	struct index_state *istate = the_repository->index;
+	char *seen = xcalloc(pathspec->nr, 1);
+	int i;
+
+	for (i = 0; i < istate->cache_nr; i++) {
+		struct cache_entry *ce = istate->cache[i];
+		if (ce_skip_worktree(ce))
+		    ce_path_match(istate, ce, pathspec, seen);
+	}
+
+	return seen;
+}
+
 /*
  * Magic pathspec
  *
diff --git a/pathspec.h b/pathspec.h
index 8202882ecd..f591ba625c 100644
--- a/pathspec.h
+++ b/pathspec.h
@@ -155,6 +155,14 @@ void add_pathspec_matches_against_index(const struct pathspec *pathspec,
 char *find_pathspecs_matching_against_index(const struct pathspec *pathspec,
 					    const struct index_state *istate,
 					    int ignore_skip_worktree);
+char *find_pathspecs_matching_skip_worktree(const struct pathspec *pathspec);
+static inline int matches_skip_worktree(const struct pathspec *pathspec,
+					int item, char **seen_ptr)
+{
+	if (!*seen_ptr)
+		*seen_ptr = find_pathspecs_matching_skip_worktree(pathspec);
+	return (*seen_ptr)[item];
+}
 int match_pathspec_attrs(const struct index_state *istate,
 			 const char *name, int namelen,
 			 const struct pathspec_item *item);
diff --git a/read-cache.c b/read-cache.c
index 29144cf879..cbede4ada3 100644
--- a/read-cache.c
+++ b/read-cache.c
@@ -1546,7 +1546,8 @@ int refresh_index(struct index_state *istate, unsigned int flags,
 		if (ignore_submodules && S_ISGITLINK(ce->ce_mode))
 			continue;
 
-		if (pathspec && !ce_path_match(istate, ce, pathspec, seen))
+		if (pathspec && !ce_path_match(istate, ce, pathspec,
+					       ce_skip_worktree(ce) ? NULL : seen))
 			filtered = 1;
 
 		if (ce_stage(ce)) {
diff --git a/t/t3705-add-sparse-checkout.sh b/t/t3705-add-sparse-checkout.sh
index f7b0ea782e..f66d369bf4 100755
--- a/t/t3705-add-sparse-checkout.sh
+++ b/t/t3705-add-sparse-checkout.sh
@@ -32,10 +32,22 @@ test_sparse_entry_unchanged() {
 	test_cmp expected actual
 }
 
+cat >sparse_entry_error <<-EOF
+The following pathspecs only matched index entries outside the current
+sparse checkout:
+sparse_entry
+EOF
+
+cat >error_and_hint sparse_entry_error - <<-EOF
+hint: Disable or modify the sparsity rules if you intend to update such entries.
+hint: Disable this message with "git config advice.updateSparsePath false"
+EOF
+
 test_expect_success "git add does not remove SKIP_WORKTREE entries" '
 	setup_sparse_entry &&
 	rm sparse_entry &&
-	git add sparse_entry &&
+	test_must_fail git add sparse_entry 2>stderr &&
+	test_i18ncmp error_and_hint stderr &&
 	test_sparse_entry_unchanged
 '
 
@@ -56,7 +68,8 @@ do
 	test_expect_success "git add$opt does not update SKIP_WORKTREE entries" '
 		setup_sparse_entry &&
 		echo modified >sparse_entry &&
-		git add $opt sparse_entry &&
+		test_must_fail git add $opt sparse_entry 2>stderr &&
+		test_i18ncmp error_and_hint stderr &&
 		test_sparse_entry_unchanged
 	'
 done
@@ -64,7 +77,8 @@ done
 test_expect_success 'git add --refresh does not update SKIP_WORKTREE entries' '
 	setup_sparse_entry &&
 	test-tool chmtime -60 sparse_entry &&
-	git add --refresh sparse_entry &&
+	test_must_fail git add --refresh sparse_entry 2>stderr &&
+	test_i18ncmp error_and_hint stderr &&
 
 	# We must unset the SKIP_WORKTREE bit, otherwise
 	# git diff-files would skip examining the file
@@ -77,7 +91,8 @@ test_expect_success 'git add --refresh does not update SKIP_WORKTREE entries' '
 
 test_expect_success 'git add --chmod does not update SKIP_WORKTREE entries' '
 	setup_sparse_entry &&
-	git add --chmod=+x sparse_entry &&
+	test_must_fail git add --chmod=+x sparse_entry 2>stderr &&
+	test_i18ncmp error_and_hint stderr &&
 	test_sparse_entry_unchanged
 '
 
@@ -85,8 +100,23 @@ test_expect_success 'git add --renormalize does not update SKIP_WORKTREE entries
 	test_config core.autocrlf false &&
 	setup_sparse_entry "LINEONE\r\nLINETWO\r\n" &&
 	echo "sparse_entry text=auto" >.gitattributes &&
-	git add --renormalize sparse_entry &&
+	test_must_fail git add --renormalize sparse_entry 2>stderr &&
+	test_i18ncmp error_and_hint stderr &&
 	test_sparse_entry_unchanged
 '
 
+test_expect_success 'do not advice about sparse entries when they do not match the pathspec' '
+	setup_sparse_entry &&
+	test_must_fail git add nonexistent sp 2>stderr &&
+	test_i18ngrep "fatal: pathspec .nonexistent. did not match any files" stderr &&
+	test_i18ngrep ! "The following pathspecs only matched index entries" stderr
+'
+
+test_expect_success 'add obeys advice.updateSparsePath' '
+	setup_sparse_entry &&
+	test_must_fail git -c advice.updateSparsePath=false add sparse_entry 2>stderr &&
+	test_i18ncmp sparse_entry_error stderr
+
+'
+
 test_done
