diff --git a/t/t5510-fetch.sh b/t/t5510-fetch.sh
index 139f7106f7..f2481de577 100755
--- a/t/t5510-fetch.sh
+++ b/t/t5510-fetch.sh
@@ -997,7 +997,7 @@ test_expect_success '--no-show-forced-updates' '
 	(
 		cd no-forced-update-clone &&
 		git fetch --no-show-forced-updates origin 2>output &&
-		! test_i18ngrep "(forced update)" output
+		test_i18ngrep ! "(forced update)" output
 	)
 '