diff --git a/lib/freedom_patches/translate_accelerator.rb b/lib/freedom_patches/translate_accelerator.rb
index fe737f52578..d2ca7a30c31 100644
--- a/lib/freedom_patches/translate_accelerator.rb
+++ b/lib/freedom_patches/translate_accelerator.rb
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ module I18n
       target = opts[:backend] || backend
       results = opts[:overridden] ? {} : target.search(config.locale, query)
 
-      regexp = /#{query}/i
+      regexp = /#{Regexp.escape(query)}/i
       (overrides_by_locale(locale) || {}).each do |k, v|
         results.delete(k)
         results[k] = v if (k =~ regexp || v =~ regexp)
diff --git a/spec/components/discourse_i18n_spec.rb b/spec/components/discourse_i18n_spec.rb
index bf51e6e7251..77c287ed073 100644
--- a/spec/components/discourse_i18n_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/components/discourse_i18n_spec.rb
@@ -116,7 +116,9 @@ describe I18n::Backend::DiscourseI18n do
       TranslationOverride.upsert!('en', 'wat', 'Overwritten value')
       expect(I18n.search('wat', backend: backend)).to eq('wat' => 'Overwritten value')
       expect(I18n.search('Overwritten', backend: backend)).to eq('wat' => 'Overwritten value')
-      expect(I18n.search('Hello', backend: backend)).to eq({})
+
+      TranslationOverride.upsert!('en', 'wat', 'Overwritten with (parentheses)')
+      expect(I18n.search('Overwritten with (', backend: backend)).to eq('wat' => 'Overwritten with (parentheses)')
     end
 
     it 'supports disabling' do