diff --git a/subsys/shell/shell_help.c b/subsys/shell/shell_help.c
index 235e2111032..95419dba101 100644
--- a/subsys/shell/shell_help.c
+++ b/subsys/shell/shell_help.c
@@ -110,7 +110,8 @@ static void help_item_print(const struct shell *sh, const char *item_name,
 			    uint16_t item_name_width, const char *item_help)
 {
 	static const uint8_t tabulator[] = "  ";
-	const uint16_t offset = 2 * strlen(tabulator) + item_name_width + 1;
+	static const char sub_cmd_sep[] = ": "; /* subcommands separator */
+	const uint16_t offset = 2 * strlen(tabulator) + item_name_width + strlen(sub_cmd_sep);
 
 	if ((item_name == NULL) || (item_name[0] == '\0')) {
 		return;