diff --git a/src/wp-admin/js/word-count.js b/src/wp-admin/js/word-count.js
index 711268a..002e42e 100644
--- a/src/wp-admin/js/word-count.js
+++ b/src/wp-admin/js/word-count.js
@@ -61,7 +61,10 @@
 
 		// If there are any localization shortcodes, add this as type in the settings.
 		if ( shortcodes && shortcodes.length ) {
-			this.settings.shortcodesRegExp = new RegExp( '\\[\\/?(?:' + shortcodes.join( '|' ) + ')[^\\]]*?\\]', 'g' );
+			this.settings.shortcodesRegExp = new RegExp( '\\[\\/?(?:' + $( shortcodes ).map( function( _, s ) {
+				// Escape special regual expression characters
+				return s.replace(/[.?*+^$[\]\\(){}|-]/g, "\\$&");
+			} ).get().join( '|' ) + ')[^\\]]*?\\]', 'g' );
 		}
 	}