diff --git a/Lib/java/typemaps.i b/Lib/java/typemaps.i
index 48edf2c94..cec34bc53 100644
--- a/Lib/java/typemaps.i
+++ b/Lib/java/typemaps.i
@@ -153,7 +153,7 @@
   }
 }
 /* free resource once finished using */
-%typemap(java,argout) const string & {
+%typemap(java,freearg) const string & {
   delete $target;
 }