diff --git a/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/elasticsearch/repository/query/ElasticsearchStringQuery.java b/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/elasticsearch/repository/query/ElasticsearchStringQuery.java
index 1712bd1be..c0e33c97e 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/elasticsearch/repository/query/ElasticsearchStringQuery.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/springframework/data/elasticsearch/repository/query/ElasticsearchStringQuery.java
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ import org.springframework.util.Assert;
  * @author Rizwan Idrees
  * @author Mohsin Husen
  * @author Mark Paluch
+ * @author Taylor Ono
  */
 public class ElasticsearchStringQuery extends AbstractElasticsearchRepositoryQuery {
 
@@ -86,8 +87,9 @@ public class ElasticsearchStringQuery extends AbstractElasticsearchRepositoryQue
 		String result = input;
 		while (matcher.find()) {
 			String group = matcher.group();
+			group = "\\" + group;
 			int index = Integer.parseInt(matcher.group(1));
-			result = result.replace(group, getParameterWithIndex(accessor, index));
+			result = result.replaceFirst(group, getParameterWithIndex(accessor, index));
 		}
 		return result;
 	}