diff --git a/vlib/v/checker/infix.v b/vlib/v/checker/infix.v
index 63bd8843e1c69b..92af3bf50bc661 100644
--- a/vlib/v/checker/infix.v
+++ b/vlib/v/checker/infix.v
@@ -964,7 +964,7 @@ fn (mut c Checker) check_duplicated_items(node &ast.ArrayInit) {
 		if item.str() !in unique_items {
 			unique_items << item_str
 		} else {
-			c.error('the item `${item_str}` is duplicated in the list', item.pos())
+			c.error('item `${item_str}` is duplicated in the list', item.pos())
 		}
 	}
 }