diff --git a/rc/base/ruby.kak b/rc/base/ruby.kak
index 27e4921d..2e9cd15b 100644
--- a/rc/base/ruby.kak
+++ b/rc/base/ruby.kak
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ addhl -group /ruby/comment fill comment
 
 addhl -group /ruby/literal fill meta
 
-addhl -group /ruby/code regex \<([A-Za-z]\w+:)|([$@][A-Za-z]\w+)|(\W\K:[A-Za-z]\w+[=?!]?) 0:identifier
+addhl -group /ruby/code regex \<([A-Za-z]\w*:)|([$@][A-Za-z]\w*)|(\W\K:[A-Za-z]\w*[=?!]?) 0:identifier
 addhl -group /ruby/code regex \<(require|include)\> 0:meta
 addhl -group /ruby/code regex \<(attr_(reader|writer|accessor))\> 0:attribute