diff --git a/src/tools/qdoc/doc.cpp b/src/tools/qdoc/doc.cpp
index e20e85028f..12056502d5 100644
--- a/src/tools/qdoc/doc.cpp
+++ b/src/tools/qdoc/doc.cpp
@@ -2678,7 +2678,7 @@ QString DocParser::untabifyEtc(const QString& str)
         if (c == QLatin1Char('\r'))
             continue;
         if (c == QLatin1Char('\t')) {
-            result += "        " + (column % tabSize);
+            result += &"        "[column % tabSize];
             column = ((column / tabSize) + 1) * tabSize;
             continue;
         }