diff --git a/libavutil/common.h b/libavutil/common.h
index ce2dc41300..d054f87c5b 100644
--- a/libavutil/common.h
+++ b/libavutil/common.h
@@ -38,9 +38,9 @@
 #include "libavutil/avconfig.h"
 
 #if AV_HAVE_BIGENDIAN
-#   define AV_NE(be, le) be
+#   define AV_NE(be, le) (be)
 #else
-#   define AV_NE(be, le) le
+#   define AV_NE(be, le) (le)
 #endif
 
 //rounded division & shift