diff --git a/cli-runopts.c b/cli-runopts.c
index 9877740e55f760555f8fe7a0d034a1e7f02ebb7d..d8b250af4ffaf4ed869aeed87ca00d3122181fcd 100644
--- a/cli-runopts.c
+++ b/cli-runopts.c
@@ -617,7 +617,7 @@ static void parse_hostname(const char* orighostarg) {
 		cli_opts.username = m_strdup(cli_opts.own_user);
 	}
 
-	port = strchr(cli_opts.remotehost, '%');
+	port = strchr(cli_opts.remotehost, '^');
 	if (!port)  {
 		/* legacy separator */
 		port = strchr(cli_opts.remotehost, '/');
diff --git a/dbclient.1 b/dbclient.1
index 48399826e874717425ba02e2636ddc513e71f1c3..a6dff62bc855a4ed8b13c363fb48002a3a1cf943 100644
--- a/dbclient.1
+++ b/dbclient.1
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ dbclient \- lightweight SSH client
 .B dbclient
 [
 .I args ]
-.I [user1]@host1[%port1],[user2]@host2[%port2],...
+.I [user1]@host1[^port1],[user2]@host2[^port2],...
 
 .SH DESCRIPTION
 .B dbclient
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ environments, while still being functional and secure enough for general use.
 .B \-p \fIport
 Connect to 
 .I port
-on the remote host. Alternatively a port can be specified as hostname%port.
+on the remote host. Alternatively a port can be specified as hostname^port.
 Default is 22.
 .TP
 .B \-i \fIidfile
@@ -127,7 +127,7 @@ Dropbear will also allow multiple "hops" to be specified, separated by commas. I
 this case a connection will be made to the first host, then a TCP forwarded 
 connection will be made through that to the second host, and so on. Hosts other than
 the final destination will not see anything other than the encrypted SSH stream. 
-A port for a host can be specified with a hash (eg matt@martello%44 ).
+A port for a host can be specified with a hash (eg matt@martello^44 ).
 This syntax can also be used with scp or rsync (specifying dbclient as the 
 ssh/rsh command). A file can be "bounced" through multiple SSH hops, eg