diff --git a/pkg/sql/logictest/testdata/logic_test/array b/pkg/sql/logictest/testdata/logic_test/array
index 6f4e14f22c86..d6d0a826533a 100644
--- a/pkg/sql/logictest/testdata/logic_test/array
+++ b/pkg/sql/logictest/testdata/logic_test/array
@@ -240,6 +240,10 @@ SELECT ARRAY['a', 'b', 'c'][0]
 ----
 NULL
 
+# Regression test for #52134: make sure this is not an internal error.
+query error cannot subscript type string because it is not an array
+SELECT '{a,b,c}'[0]
+
 query T
 SELECT (ARRAY['a', 'b', 'c'])[2]
 ----
diff --git a/pkg/sql/sem/tree/constant.go b/pkg/sql/sem/tree/constant.go
index 6e2c3916a3fd..48105bef4540 100644
--- a/pkg/sql/sem/tree/constant.go
+++ b/pkg/sql/sem/tree/constant.go
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ func typeCheckConstant(
 	ctx context.Context, semaCtx *SemaContext, c Constant, desired *types.T,
 ) (ret TypedExpr, err error) {
 	avail := c.AvailableTypes()
-	if desired.Family() != types.AnyFamily {
+	if !desired.IsAmbiguous() {
 		for _, typ := range avail {
 			if desired.Equivalent(typ) {
 				return c.ResolveAsType(ctx, semaCtx, desired)