diff --git a/plugins/colorize/colorize.plugin.zsh b/plugins/colorize/colorize.plugin.zsh
index dc0947d4f..11b58e69d 100644
--- a/plugins/colorize/colorize.plugin.zsh
+++ b/plugins/colorize/colorize.plugin.zsh
@@ -6,9 +6,9 @@
 alias colorize='colorize_via_pygmentize'
 
 colorize_via_pygmentize() {
-    if [ ! -x $(which pygmentize) ]; then
-        echo package \'pygmentize\' is not installed!
-        exit -1
+    if [ ! -x "$(which pygmentize)" ]; then
+        echo "package \'pygmentize\' is not installed!"
+        return -1
     fi
 
     if [ $# -eq 0 ]; then