diff --git a/spacy/lexeme.pyx b/spacy/lexeme.pyx
index 4d4d982f0..866f62da1 100644
--- a/spacy/lexeme.pyx
+++ b/spacy/lexeme.pyx
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ cdef class Lexeme:
             a = self.orth
             b = other
         elif isinstance(other, str):
-            a = self.orth
+            a = self.orth_
             b = other
         else:
             a = 0