diff --git a/src/highlighters.cc b/src/highlighters.cc
index 65b00e3e..51b8111f 100644
--- a/src/highlighters.cc
+++ b/src/highlighters.cc
@@ -543,7 +543,7 @@ void show_matching_char(const Context& context, HighlightFlags flags, DisplayBuf
                                     apply_colors(colors));
                 break;
             }
-            else if (c == pair.second)
+            else if (c == pair.second and pos > range.first)
             {
                 auto it = buffer.iterator_at(pos)-1;
                 auto end = buffer.iterator_at(range.first);