diff --git a/startkde b/startkde
index 1497f04e3..92b2e3618 100644
--- a/startkde
+++ b/startkde
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ fi
 unset BIN_DIR
 
 # KDEDIRS
-if is_in_path KDEDIRS "/usr" && ! is_in_path PATH KDEDIRS "${KDEDIR}"; then
+if is_in_path KDEDIRS "/usr" && ! is_in_path KDEDIRS "${KDEDIR}"; then
   echo "[startkde] KDEDIRS is currently set to: ${KDEDIRS}" 1>&2
   echo "[startkde] Adding KDEDIR in KDEDIRS" 1>&2
   place_before_in_path KDEDIRS "${KDEDIR}" "/usr"