diff --git a/spacy/__init__.py b/spacy/__init__.py
index bda109086..e54aa244b 100644
--- a/spacy/__init__.py
+++ b/spacy/__init__.py
@@ -1,10 +1,17 @@
 # coding: utf8
 from __future__ import unicode_literals
 
+from .errors import Errors, Warnings, deprecation_warning
+
+try:
+    # check if spaCy has compiled correctly (if it hasn't this will raise)
+    import spacy.symbols
+except ModuleNotFoundError:
+    raise ImportError(Errors.E094)
+
 from .cli.info import info as cli_info
 from .glossary import explain
 from .about import __version__
-from .errors import Warnings, deprecation_warning
 from . import util
 
 
diff --git a/spacy/errors.py b/spacy/errors.py
index 2713f76c8..22a8dd5b3 100644
--- a/spacy/errors.py
+++ b/spacy/errors.py
@@ -244,6 +244,10 @@ class Errors(object):
             "Alternatively, it is built from the 'lang' and 'name' keys in "
             "the meta.json. Vector names are required to avoid issue #1660.")
     E093 = ("token.ent_iob values make invalid sequence: I without B\n{seq}")
+    E094 = ("Can't import from compiled modules. This usually indicates that "
+            "spaCy hasn't compiled correcty. If you're on Windows, make sure "
+            "you have a compiler, i.e. the Visual C++ Build Tools installed. "
+            "See the installation docs for more info: https://spacy.io/usage/")
 
 
 @add_codes