diff --git a/cmd/podman/common/create.go b/cmd/podman/common/create.go
index 5fefbacdf4..1121806d5e 100644
--- a/cmd/podman/common/create.go
+++ b/cmd/podman/common/create.go
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ func DefineCreateFlags(cmd *cobra.Command, cf *entities.ContainerCreateOptions,
 		createFlags.StringSliceVar(
 			&cf.Annotation,
 			annotationFlagName, []string{},
-			"Add annotations to container (key:value)",
+			"Add annotations to container (key=value)",
 		)
 		_ = cmd.RegisterFlagCompletionFunc(annotationFlagName, completion.AutocompleteNone)