diff --git a/tests/clickhouse-test b/tests/clickhouse-test
index d0866dd3bbe..c1878d4c52d 100755
--- a/tests/clickhouse-test
+++ b/tests/clickhouse-test
@@ -185,9 +185,10 @@ def run_single_test(args, ext, server_logs_level, client_options, case_file, std
         'stderr': stderr_file,
     }
 
-    # >> append to stdout and stderr, because there are also output of per test database creation
+    # >> append to stderr (but not stdout since it is not used there),
+    # because there are also output of per test database creation
     if not args.database:
-        pattern = '{test} >> {stdout} 2>> {stderr}'
+        pattern = '{test} > {stdout} 2>> {stderr}'
     else:
         pattern = '{test} > {stdout} 2> {stderr}'