diff --git a/plugins/word-completion/completion-provider.vala b/plugins/word-completion/completion-provider.vala
index 65bcb4649c..d9abbc7b77 100644
--- a/plugins/word-completion/completion-provider.vala
+++ b/plugins/word-completion/completion-provider.vala
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ public class Scratch.Plugins.CompletionProvider : Gtk.SourceCompletionProvider,
         Gtk.TextIter start, end;
         buffer.get_iter_at_offset (out end, buffer.cursor_position);
         start = end.copy ();
-        start.backward_word_start ();
+        Euclide.Completion.Parser.back_to_word_start (ref start);
         string text = buffer.get_text (start, end, true);
 
         return parser.match (text);
@@ -102,10 +102,11 @@ public class Scratch.Plugins.CompletionProvider : Gtk.SourceCompletionProvider,
         buffer.get_iter_at_mark (out cursor_iter, mark);
 
         iter = cursor_iter;
-        iter.backward_word_start ();
+        Euclide.Completion.Parser.back_to_word_start (ref iter);
         return true;
     }
 
+
     private bool get_proposals (out GLib.List<Gtk.SourceCompletionItem>? props, bool no_minimum) {
         string to_find = "";
         Gtk.TextBuffer temp_buffer = buffer;
@@ -120,7 +121,7 @@ public class Scratch.Plugins.CompletionProvider : Gtk.SourceCompletionProvider,
             temp_buffer.get_iter_at_offset (out end, buffer.cursor_position);
 
             start = end;
-            start.backward_word_start ();
+            Euclide.Completion.Parser.back_to_word_start (ref start);
 
             to_find = buffer.get_text (start, end, false);
         }
@@ -128,7 +129,6 @@ public class Scratch.Plugins.CompletionProvider : Gtk.SourceCompletionProvider,
         buffer.move_mark_by_name (COMPLETION_END_MARK_NAME, end);
         buffer.move_mark_by_name (COMPLETION_START_MARK_NAME, start);
 
-
         /* There is no minimum length of word to find if the user requested a completion */
         if (no_minimum || to_find.length >= Euclide.Completion.Parser.MINIMUM_WORD_LENGTH) {
             /* Get proposals, if any */
diff --git a/plugins/word-completion/engine.vala b/plugins/word-completion/engine.vala
index 9d73598dc3..eff236042f 100644
--- a/plugins/word-completion/engine.vala
+++ b/plugins/word-completion/engine.vala
@@ -29,6 +29,11 @@ public class Euclide.Completion.Parser : GLib.Object {
         return DELIMITERS.index_of_char (c) >= 0;
     }
 
+    public static void back_to_word_start (ref Gtk.TextIter iter) {
+        iter.backward_find_char (is_delimiter, null);
+        iter.forward_char ();
+    }
+
     public Gee.HashMap<Gtk.TextView,Scratch.Plugins.PrefixTree> text_view_words;
     public bool parsing_cancelled = false;
 
diff --git a/plugins/word-completion/plugin.vala b/plugins/word-completion/plugin.vala
index 4a32dd093c..b4d2ff9467 100644
--- a/plugins/word-completion/plugin.vala
+++ b/plugins/word-completion/plugin.vala
@@ -141,16 +141,15 @@ public class Scratch.Plugins.Completion : Peas.ExtensionBase, Peas.Activatable {
             }
         }
 
-        if (!completion_in_progress && parser.is_delimiter (uc) &&
+        if (!completion_in_progress && Euclide.Completion.Parser.is_delimiter (uc) &&
             (uc.isprint () || uc.isspace ())) {
-
             var buffer = current_view.buffer;
             var mark = buffer.get_insert ();
             Gtk.TextIter cursor_iter;
             buffer.get_iter_at_mark (out cursor_iter, mark);
 
             var word_start = cursor_iter;
-            word_start.backward_word_start ();
+            Euclide.Completion.Parser.back_to_word_start (ref word_start);
 
             string word = buffer.get_text (word_start, cursor_iter, false);
             parser.add_word (word);