diff --git a/tests/functional/nars.sh b/tests/functional/nars.sh
index cf282311615..39d9389dbbe 100755
--- a/tests/functional/nars.sh
+++ b/tests/functional/nars.sh
@@ -103,10 +103,11 @@ rm -rf "$TEST_ROOT/out"
 set +e
 unicodeTestOut=$(nix-store --restore "$TEST_ROOT/out" < unnormalized.nar 2>&1)
 unicodeTestCode=$?
-touch "$TEST_ROOT/unicode-â"
-touch "$TEST_ROOT/unicode-â"
 set -e
 
+touch "$TEST_ROOT/unicode-â" # non-canonical version
+touch "$TEST_ROOT/unicode-â"
+
 touchFilesCount=$(find "$TEST_ROOT" -maxdepth 1 -name "unicode-*" -type f | wc -l)
 
 if (( unicodeTestCode == 1 )); then