diff --git a/arrow-ord/src/cmp.rs b/arrow-ord/src/cmp.rs
index e1f54ca13e37..26eb0d8d6e41 100644
--- a/arrow-ord/src/cmp.rs
+++ b/arrow-ord/src/cmp.rs
@@ -232,7 +232,11 @@ fn compare_op(op: Op, lhs: &dyn Datum, rhs: &dyn Datum) -> Result<BooleanArray,
     let r = r_v.map(|x| x.values().as_ref()).unwrap_or(r);
     let r_t = r.data_type();
 
-    if l_t != r_t || l_t.is_nested() {
+    if r_t.is_nested() || l_t.is_nested() {
+        return Err(ArrowError::InvalidArgumentError(format!(
+            "Nested comparison: {l_t} {op} {r_t} (hint: use make_comparator instead)"
+        )));
+    } else if l_t != r_t {
         return Err(ArrowError::InvalidArgumentError(format!(
             "Invalid comparison operation: {l_t} {op} {r_t}"
         )));