diff --git a/nltk/probability.py b/nltk/probability.py
index 80ee1180de..a78f8e262d 100755
--- a/nltk/probability.py
+++ b/nltk/probability.py
@@ -1904,7 +1904,7 @@ def plot(self, *args, **kwargs):
         :type conditions: list
         """
         try:
-            from matplotlib import plt
+            from matplotlib.pyplot import plt
         except ImportError:
             raise ValueError(
                 'The plot function requires matplotlib to be installed.'