diff --git a/spacy/parts_of_speech.pxd b/spacy/parts_of_speech.pxd
index 17e349435..9fbdbd71f 100644
--- a/spacy/parts_of_speech.pxd
+++ b/spacy/parts_of_speech.pxd
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ from .symbols cimport *
 
 
 cpdef enum univ_pos_t:
-    NO_TAG = EMPTY_VALUE
+    NO_TAG = NIL
     ADJ = POS_adj
     ADP = POS_adp
     ADV = POS_adv