diff --git a/tools/perf/util/header.c b/tools/perf/util/header.c
index 571d73d4f976..d546ff724dbe 100644
--- a/tools/perf/util/header.c
+++ b/tools/perf/util/header.c
@@ -1335,7 +1335,7 @@ static int build_mem_topology(struct memory_node *nodes, u64 size, u64 *cntp)
 
 	dir = opendir(path);
 	if (!dir) {
-		pr_debug2("%s: could't read %s, does this arch have topology information?\n",
+		pr_debug2("%s: couldn't read %s, does this arch have topology information?\n",
 			  __func__, path);
 		return -1;
 	}