diff --git a/src/nix-env/main.cc b/src/nix-env/main.cc
index f0493bb5e2..4dc9158e65 100644
--- a/src/nix-env/main.cc
+++ b/src/nix-env/main.cc
@@ -800,8 +800,6 @@ static void opQuery(Globals & globals,
 
         if (printName) columns.push_back(i->name);
 
-        if (printSystem) columns.push_back(i->system);
-
         if (compareVersions) {
             /* Compare this element against the versions of the same
                named packages in either the set of available elements,
@@ -822,6 +820,8 @@ static void opQuery(Globals & globals,
             columns.push_back(column);
         }
 
+        if (printSystem) columns.push_back(i->system);
+
         if (printDrvPath) columns.push_back(
             i->queryDrvPath(globals.state) == ""
             ? "-" : i->queryDrvPath(globals.state));