diff --git a/src/hb-font.cc b/src/hb-font.cc
index 00f1f6d38..96b79ecca 100644
--- a/src/hb-font.cc
+++ b/src/hb-font.cc
@@ -231,7 +231,7 @@ hb_font_get_glyph_v_advance_nil (hb_font_t      *font,
 				 void           *user_data HB_UNUSED)
 {
   /* TODO use font_extents.ascender+descender */
-  return font->y_scale;
+  return -font->y_scale;
 }
 
 static hb_position_t