diff --git a/src/dsymbol.c b/src/dsymbol.c
index c51976c14d28..93bae5114204 100644
--- a/src/dsymbol.c
+++ b/src/dsymbol.c
@@ -1266,7 +1266,7 @@ Dsymbol *ArrayScopeSymbol::search(Loc loc, Identifier *ident, int flags)
         Expression *ce;
 
         if (ident == Id::length)
-            deprecation("using 'length' inside [ ] is deprecated, use '$' instead");
+            ::error(loc, "using 'length' inside [ ] is deprecated, use '$' instead");
 
     L1: