diff --git a/pylib/anki/rsbackend.py b/pylib/anki/rsbackend.py
index 1bba877fe..1653bfe88 100644
--- a/pylib/anki/rsbackend.py
+++ b/pylib/anki/rsbackend.py
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ TagUsnTuple = pb.TagUsnTuple
 NoteType = pb.NoteType
 DeckTreeNode = pb.DeckTreeNode
 StockNoteType = pb.StockNoteType
+ConcatSeparator = pb.ConcatenateSearchesIn.Separator
 SyncAuth = pb.SyncAuth
 SyncOutput = pb.SyncCollectionOut
 SyncStatus = pb.SyncStatusOut
diff --git a/qt/aqt/browser.py b/qt/aqt/browser.py
index ead439982..019041bd0 100644
--- a/qt/aqt/browser.py
+++ b/qt/aqt/browser.py
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ from anki.consts import *
 from anki.lang import without_unicode_isolation
 from anki.models import NoteType
 from anki.notes import Note
-from anki.rsbackend import DeckTreeNode, InvalidInput, pb
+from anki.rsbackend import DeckTreeNode, InvalidInput, ConcatSeparator
 from anki.stats import CardStats
 from anki.utils import htmlToTextLine, ids2str, isMac, isWin
 from aqt import AnkiQt, gui_hooks
@@ -1236,13 +1236,13 @@ QTableView {{ gridline-color: {grid} }}
                 elif mods & Qt.ControlModifier:
                     txt = self.col.backend.concatenate_searches(
                         # pylint: disable=no-member
-                        sep=pb.ConcatenateSearchesIn.Separator.AND,
+                        sep=ConcatSeparator.AND,
                         searches=[cur, txt],
                     )
                 elif mods & Qt.ShiftModifier:
                     txt = self.col.backend.concatenate_searches(
                         # pylint: disable=no-member
-                        sep=pb.ConcatenateSearchesIn.Separator.OR,
+                        sep=ConcatSeparator.OR,
                         searches=[cur, txt],
                     )
         except InvalidInput as e: