diff --git a/docs/cli.rst b/docs/cli.rst
index 0c08526..6a96a82 100644
--- a/docs/cli.rst
+++ b/docs/cli.rst
@@ -1519,6 +1519,8 @@ By default it shows the most relevant matches first. You can specify a different
     # Sort by created in descending order
     $ sqlite-utils search mydb.db documents searchterm -o 'created desc'
 
+SQLite `advanced search syntax <https://www.sqlite.org/fts5.html#full_text_query_syntax>`__ is enabled by default. To run a search with automatic quoting use the ``--quote`` option.
+
 You can specify a subset of columns to be returned using the ``-c`` option one or more times::
 
     $ sqlite-utils search mydb.db documents searchterm -c title -c created
diff --git a/sqlite_utils/cli.py b/sqlite_utils/cli.py
index d94229d..4b39a5e 100644
--- a/sqlite_utils/cli.py
+++ b/sqlite_utils/cli.py
@@ -1375,6 +1375,7 @@ def _execute_query(
 @click.option(
     "--sql", "show_sql", is_flag=True, help="Show SQL query that would be run"
 )
+@click.option("--quote", is_flag=True, help="Apply FTS quoting rules to search term")
 @output_options
 @load_extension_option
 @click.pass_context
@@ -1385,6 +1386,7 @@ def search(
     q,
     order,
     show_sql,
+    quote,
     column,
     limit,
     nl,
@@ -1420,21 +1422,31 @@ def search(
     if show_sql:
         click.echo(sql)
         return
-    ctx.invoke(
-        query,
-        path=path,
-        sql=sql,
-        nl=nl,
-        arrays=arrays,
-        csv=csv,
-        tsv=tsv,
-        no_headers=no_headers,
-        table=table,
-        fmt=fmt,
-        json_cols=json_cols,
-        param=[("query", q)],
-        load_extension=load_extension,
-    )
+    if quote:
+        q = db.quote_fts(q)
+    try:
+        ctx.invoke(
+            query,
+            path=path,
+            sql=sql,
+            nl=nl,
+            arrays=arrays,
+            csv=csv,
+            tsv=tsv,
+            no_headers=no_headers,
+            table=table,
+            fmt=fmt,
+            json_cols=json_cols,
+            param=[("query", q)],
+            load_extension=load_extension,
+        )
+    except click.ClickException as e:
+        if "malformed MATCH expression" in str(e) or "unterminated string" in str(e):
+            raise click.ClickException(
+                "{}\n\nTry running this again with the --quote option".format(str(e))
+            )
+        else:
+            raise
 
 
 @cli.command()
diff --git a/tests/test_cli.py b/tests/test_cli.py
index d4801ac..58347cd 100644
--- a/tests/test_cli.py
+++ b/tests/test_cli.py
@@ -1994,6 +1994,25 @@ def test_search(tmpdir, fts, extra_arg, expected):
     assert result.output.replace("\r", "") == expected
 
 
+def test_search_quote(tmpdir):
+    db_path = str(tmpdir / "test.db")
+    db = Database(db_path)
+    db["creatures"].insert({"name": "dog."}).enable_fts(["name"])
+    # Without --quote should return an error
+    error_result = CliRunner().invoke(cli.cli, ["search", db_path, "creatures", 'dog"'])
+    assert error_result.exit_code == 1
+    assert error_result.output == (
+        "Error: unterminated string\n\n"
+        "Try running this again with the --quote option\n"
+    )
+    # With --quote it should work
+    result = CliRunner().invoke(
+        cli.cli, ["search", db_path, "creatures", 'dog"', "--quote"]
+    )
+    assert result.exit_code == 0
+    assert result.output.strip() == '[{"rowid": 1, "name": "dog."}]'
+
+
 def test_indexes(tmpdir):
     db_path = str(tmpdir / "test.db")
     db = Database(db_path)