diff --git a/qutebrowser/utils/urlutils.py b/qutebrowser/utils/urlutils.py
index 7af8f933a..5417d9a7a 100644
--- a/qutebrowser/utils/urlutils.py
+++ b/qutebrowser/utils/urlutils.py
@@ -212,7 +212,7 @@ def _has_explicit_scheme(url):
     # symbols, we treat this as not a URI anyways.
     return (url.isValid() and url.scheme() and
             (url.host() or url.path()) and
-            not url.path().startswith(' ') and
+            ' ' not in url.path() and
             not url.path().startswith(':'))
 
 
diff --git a/tests/unit/utils/test_urlutils.py b/tests/unit/utils/test_urlutils.py
index 9c7c86741..f98ba65d6 100644
--- a/tests/unit/utils/test_urlutils.py
+++ b/tests/unit/utils/test_urlutils.py
@@ -333,6 +333,7 @@ def test_get_search_url_invalid(urlutils_config_stub, url):
     (False, True, False, '1337'),  # no DNS because bogus-IP
     (False, True, True, 'deadbeef'),
     (False, True, True, 'hello.'),
+    (False, True, False, 'site:cookies.com oatmeal raisin'),
     # no DNS because bogus-IP
     pytest.mark.xfail(qtutils.version_check('5.6.1'),
                       reason='Qt behavior changed')(