diff --git a/compiler/semexprs.nim b/compiler/semexprs.nim
index cc88545773..c678d3674d 100644
--- a/compiler/semexprs.nim
+++ b/compiler/semexprs.nim
@@ -1142,7 +1142,7 @@ proc semSym(c: PContext, n: PNode, sym: PSym, flags: TExprFlags): PNode =
       # It is clear that ``[]`` means two totally different things. Thus, we
       # copy `x`'s AST into each context, so that the type fixup phase can
       # deal with two different ``[]``.
-      if s.ast.len == 0: result = inlineConst(c, n, s)
+      if s.ast.safeLen == 0: result = inlineConst(c, n, s)
       else: result = newSymNode(s, n.info)
     of tyStatic:
       if typ.n != nil: