diff --git a/t/t4116-apply-reverse.sh b/t/t4116-apply-reverse.sh
index 9ae2b3a8ef..359f347b2c 100755
--- a/t/t4116-apply-reverse.sh
+++ b/t/t4116-apply-reverse.sh
@@ -42,7 +42,8 @@ test_expect_success 'apply in reverse' '
 	git reset --hard second &&
 	git apply --reverse --binary --index patch &&
 	git diff >diff &&
-	git diff /dev/null diff
+	: > empty &&
+	git diff empty diff
 
 '