diff --git a/packages/playwright-core/src/server/common/cssParser.ts b/packages/playwright-core/src/server/common/cssParser.ts
index 62edb9069d..c41df11cba 100644
--- a/packages/playwright-core/src/server/common/cssParser.ts
+++ b/packages/playwright-core/src/server/common/cssParser.ts
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
  * limitations under the License.
  */
 
+import { InvalidSelectorError } from './selectorErrors';
 import * as css from './cssTokenizer';
 
 // Note: '>=' is used internally for text engine to preserve backwards compatibility.
@@ -61,13 +62,13 @@ export function parseCSS(selector: string, customNames: Set<string>): { selector
       (token instanceof css.PercentageToken);
   });
   if (unsupportedToken)
-    throw new Error(`Unsupported token "${unsupportedToken.toSource()}" while parsing selector "${selector}"`);
+    throw new InvalidSelectorError(`Unsupported token "${unsupportedToken.toSource()}" while parsing selector "${selector}"`);
 
   let pos = 0;
   const names = new Set<string>();
 
   function unexpected() {
-    return new Error(`Unexpected token "${tokens[pos].toSource()}" while parsing selector "${selector}"`);
+    return new InvalidSelectorError(`Unexpected token "${tokens[pos].toSource()}" while parsing selector "${selector}"`);
   }
 
   function skipWhitespace() {
@@ -221,9 +222,9 @@ export function parseCSS(selector: string, customNames: Set<string>): { selector
 
   const result = consumeFunctionArguments();
   if (!isEOF())
-    throw new Error(`Error while parsing selector "${selector}"`);
+    throw new InvalidSelectorError(`Error while parsing selector "${selector}"`);
   if (result.some(arg => typeof arg !== 'object' || !('simples' in arg)))
-    throw new Error(`Error while parsing selector "${selector}"`);
+    throw new InvalidSelectorError(`Error while parsing selector "${selector}"`);
   return { selector: result as CSSComplexSelector[], names: Array.from(names) };
 }
 
diff --git a/packages/playwright-core/src/server/common/selectorErrors.ts b/packages/playwright-core/src/server/common/selectorErrors.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..a0d9f1e721
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/playwright-core/src/server/common/selectorErrors.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+/**
+ * Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation.
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ * http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+export class InvalidSelectorError extends Error {
+}
+
+export function isInvalidSelectorError(error: Error) {
+  return error instanceof InvalidSelectorError;
+}
diff --git a/packages/playwright-core/src/server/common/selectorParser.ts b/packages/playwright-core/src/server/common/selectorParser.ts
index f40b1ae940..6adede7b5b 100644
--- a/packages/playwright-core/src/server/common/selectorParser.ts
+++ b/packages/playwright-core/src/server/common/selectorParser.ts
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
  * limitations under the License.
  */
 
+import { InvalidSelectorError } from './selectorErrors';
 import { CSSComplexSelectorList, parseCSS } from './cssParser';
 
 export type ParsedSelectorPart = {
@@ -66,7 +67,7 @@ export function splitSelectorByFrame(selectorText: string): ParsedSelector[] {
     const part = selector.parts[i];
     if (part.name === 'control' && part.body === 'enter-frame') {
       if (!chunk.parts.length)
-        throw new Error('Selector cannot start with entering frame, select the iframe first');
+        throw new InvalidSelectorError('Selector cannot start with entering frame, select the iframe first');
       result.push(chunk);
       chunk = { parts: [] };
       chunkStartIndex = i + 1;
@@ -77,10 +78,10 @@ export function splitSelectorByFrame(selectorText: string): ParsedSelector[] {
     chunk.parts.push(part);
   }
   if (!chunk.parts.length)
-    throw new Error(`Selector cannot end with entering frame, while parsing selector ${selectorText}`);
+    throw new InvalidSelectorError(`Selector cannot end with entering frame, while parsing selector ${selectorText}`);
   result.push(chunk);
   if (typeof selector.capture === 'number' && typeof result[result.length - 1].capture !== 'number')
-    throw new Error(`Can not capture the selector before diving into the frame. Only use * after the last frame has been selected`);
+    throw new InvalidSelectorError(`Can not capture the selector before diving into the frame. Only use * after the last frame has been selected`);
   return result;
 }
 
@@ -130,7 +131,7 @@ function parseSelectorString(selector: string): ParsedSelectorStrings {
     result.parts.push({ name, body });
     if (capture) {
       if (result.capture !== undefined)
-        throw new Error(`Only one of the selectors can capture using * modifier`);
+        throw new InvalidSelectorError(`Only one of the selectors can capture using * modifier`);
       result.capture = result.parts.length - 1;
     }
   };
diff --git a/packages/playwright-core/src/server/frames.ts b/packages/playwright-core/src/server/frames.ts
index 1613356b56..6a2f31d77b 100644
--- a/packages/playwright-core/src/server/frames.ts
+++ b/packages/playwright-core/src/server/frames.ts
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ import type { ElementStateWithoutStable, FrameExpectParams, InjectedScriptPoll,
 import { isSessionClosedError } from './common/protocolError';
 import { splitSelectorByFrame, stringifySelector } from './common/selectorParser';
 import { SelectorInfo } from './selectors';
+import { isInvalidSelectorError } from './common/selectorErrors';
 
 type ContextData = {
   contextPromise: ManualPromise<dom.FrameExecutionContext | Error>;
@@ -1277,7 +1278,7 @@ export class Frame extends SdkObject {
     }, timeout).catch(e => {
       // Q: Why not throw upon isSessionClosedError(e) as in other places?
       // A: We want user to receive a friendly message containing the last intermediate result.
-      if (js.isJavaScriptErrorInEvaluate(e))
+      if (js.isJavaScriptErrorInEvaluate(e) || isInvalidSelectorError(e))
         throw e;
       return { received: controller.lastIntermediateResult(), matches: options.isNot, log: metadata.log };
     });
diff --git a/packages/playwright-core/src/server/selectors.ts b/packages/playwright-core/src/server/selectors.ts
index 20e5638e8b..d452666e41 100644
--- a/packages/playwright-core/src/server/selectors.ts
+++ b/packages/playwright-core/src/server/selectors.ts
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ import * as frames from './frames';
 import * as js from './javascript';
 import * as types from './types';
 import { ParsedSelector, parseSelector, stringifySelector } from './common/selectorParser';
+import { InvalidSelectorError } from './common/selectorErrors';
 import { createGuid } from '../utils/utils';
 
 export type SelectorInfo = {
@@ -130,7 +131,7 @@ export class Selectors {
     for (const part of parsed.parts) {
       const custom = this._engines.get(part.name);
       if (!custom && !this._builtinEngines.has(part.name))
-        throw new Error(`Unknown engine "${part.name}" while parsing selector ${stringifySelector(parsed)}`);
+        throw new InvalidSelectorError(`Unknown engine "${part.name}" while parsing selector ${stringifySelector(parsed)}`);
       if (custom && !custom.contentScript)
         needsMainWorld = true;
       if (this._builtinEnginesInMainWorld.has(part.name))
diff --git a/tests/playwright-test/playwright.expect.true.spec.ts b/tests/playwright-test/playwright.expect.true.spec.ts
index 0657acf6bf..50a8889c9a 100644
--- a/tests/playwright-test/playwright.expect.true.spec.ts
+++ b/tests/playwright-test/playwright.expect.true.spec.ts
@@ -294,3 +294,31 @@ test('should support toBeFocused', async ({ runInlineTest }) => {
   expect(result.passed).toBe(1);
   expect(result.exitCode).toBe(0);
 });
+
+test('should print unknown engine error', async ({ runInlineTest }) => {
+  const result = await runInlineTest({
+    'a.test.ts': `
+      const { test } = pwt;
+      test('focused', async ({ page }) => {
+        await expect(page.locator('row="row"]')).toBeVisible();
+      });
+      `,
+  }, { workers: 1 });
+  expect(result.passed).toBe(0);
+  expect(result.exitCode).toBe(1);
+  expect(result.output).toContain(`Unknown engine "row" while parsing selector row="row"]`);
+});
+
+test('should print syntax error', async ({ runInlineTest }) => {
+  const result = await runInlineTest({
+    'a.test.ts': `
+      const { test } = pwt;
+      test('focused', async ({ page }) => {
+        await expect(page.locator('row]')).toBeVisible();
+      });
+      `,
+  }, { workers: 1 });
+  expect(result.passed).toBe(0);
+  expect(result.exitCode).toBe(1);
+  expect(result.output).toContain(`Unexpected token "]" while parsing selector "row]"`);
+});