diff --git a/icu4c/source/i18n/rbnf.cpp b/icu4c/source/i18n/rbnf.cpp
index f500280b9a..c43bfffc66 100644
--- a/icu4c/source/i18n/rbnf.cpp
+++ b/icu4c/source/i18n/rbnf.cpp
@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ RuleBasedNumberFormat::RuleBasedNumberFormat(const RuleBasedNumberFormat& rhs)
   , lenient(FALSE)
   , lenientParseRules(NULL)
 {
-  this->operator==(rhs);
+  this->operator=(rhs);
 }
 
 RuleBasedNumberFormat&