diff --git a/repos/base/include/util/string.h b/repos/base/include/util/string.h
index 9d84c3b7a0..2c53934a88 100644
--- a/repos/base/include/util/string.h
+++ b/repos/base/include/util/string.h
@@ -630,9 +630,9 @@ class Genode::String
 		 * Copy constructor
 		 */
 		template <unsigned N>
-		String(String<N> const &other) : _len(min(other._len, CAPACITY))
+		String(String<N> const &other) : _len(min(other.length(), CAPACITY))
 		{
-			Genode::strncpy(_buf, other._buf, _len);
+			Genode::strncpy(_buf, other.string(), _len);
 		}
 
 		/**