--- vile-9.8x+/map.c	2022-12-23 00:32:02.000000000 +0000
+++ vile-9.8y/map.c	2023-01-13 08:51:24.000000000 +0000
@@ -923,6 +926,18 @@
     }
 
     do {
+	/*
+	 * This is a workaround for an ambiguity between the different return
+	 * values from mapgetc(), on entry to this function:
+	 * - If infloopcount is zero, mapgetc() has just called tgetc(), which
+	 *   in turn called sysmapped_c(), and then term.getc().  That pointer
+	 *   is initialized to vl_mb_getch(), which will decode UTF-8 into a
+	 *   Unicode value.
+	 * - If infloopcount is nonzero, the function returns a byte (of UTF-8),
+	 *   which must be decoded later in this function.
+	 */
+	int full_c = (infloopcount == 0);	/* tgetc returned full char? */
+
 	(void) itb_init(&mappedchars, esc_c);
 
 	matched = maplookup(c,
@@ -949,7 +966,7 @@
 
 	c = mapgetc();
 #if OPT_MULTIBYTE
-	if (vl_encoding >= enc_UTF8 && b_is_utfXX(curbp)) {
+	if (remap && !full_c && (vl_encoding >= enc_UTF8 && b_is_utfXX(curbp))) {
 	    char save[MAX_UTF8];
 	    int have = 0;
 	    int need = 9;