diff --git a/src/cmd/compile/internal/gc/go.go b/src/cmd/compile/internal/gc/go.go
index 5f2c328909..6123e6acc1 100644
--- a/src/cmd/compile/internal/gc/go.go
+++ b/src/cmd/compile/internal/gc/go.go
@@ -295,6 +295,7 @@ var (
 	growslice,
 	msanread,
 	msanwrite,
+	newobject,
 	newproc,
 	panicdivide,
 	panicshift,
@@ -312,7 +313,8 @@ var (
 	typedmemclr,
 	typedmemmove,
 	Udiv,
-	writeBarrier *obj.LSym
+	writeBarrier,
+	zerobaseSym *obj.LSym
 
 	BoundsCheckFunc [ssa.BoundsKindCount]*obj.LSym
 	ExtendCheckFunc [ssa.BoundsKindCount]*obj.LSym
diff --git a/src/cmd/compile/internal/gc/op_string.go b/src/cmd/compile/internal/gc/op_string.go
index 54fce2409e..af55df68a3 100644
--- a/src/cmd/compile/internal/gc/op_string.go
+++ b/src/cmd/compile/internal/gc/op_string.go
@@ -4,9 +4,9 @@ package gc
 
 import "strconv"
 
-const _Op_name = "XXXNAMENONAMETYPEPACKLITERALADDSUBORXORADDSTRADDRANDANDAPPENDBYTES2STRBYTES2STRTMPRUNES2STRSTR2BYTESSTR2BYTESTMPSTR2RUNESASAS2AS2FUNCAS2RECVAS2MAPRAS2DOTTYPEASOPCALLCALLFUNCCALLMETHCALLINTERCALLPARTCAPCLOSECLOSURECOMPLITMAPLITSTRUCTLITARRAYLITSLICELITPTRLITCONVCONVIFACECONVNOPCOPYDCLDCLFUNCDCLFIELDDCLCONSTDCLTYPEDELETEDOTDOTPTRDOTMETHDOTINTERXDOTDOTTYPEDOTTYPE2EQNELTLEGEGTDEREFINDEXINDEXMAPKEYSTRUCTKEYLENMAKEMAKECHANMAKEMAPMAKESLICEMULDIVMODLSHRSHANDANDNOTNEWNOTBITNOTPLUSNEGORORPANICPRINTPRINTNPARENSENDSLICESLICEARRSLICESTRSLICE3SLICE3ARRSLICEHEADERRECOVERRECVRUNESTRSELRECVSELRECV2IOTAREALIMAGCOMPLEXALIGNOFOFFSETOFSIZEOFBLOCKBREAKCASEXCASECONTINUEDEFEREMPTYFALLFORFORUNTILGOTOIFLABELGORANGERETURNSELECTSWITCHTYPESWTCHANTMAPTSTRUCTTINTERTFUNCTARRAYDDDDDDARGINLCALLEFACEITABIDATASPTRCLOSUREVARCFUNCCHECKNILVARDEFVARKILLVARLIVEINDREGSPINLMARKRETJMPGETGEND"
+const _Op_name = "XXXNAMENONAMETYPEPACKLITERALADDSUBORXORADDSTRADDRANDANDAPPENDBYTES2STRBYTES2STRTMPRUNES2STRSTR2BYTESSTR2BYTESTMPSTR2RUNESASAS2AS2FUNCAS2RECVAS2MAPRAS2DOTTYPEASOPCALLCALLFUNCCALLMETHCALLINTERCALLPARTCAPCLOSECLOSURECOMPLITMAPLITSTRUCTLITARRAYLITSLICELITPTRLITCONVCONVIFACECONVNOPCOPYDCLDCLFUNCDCLFIELDDCLCONSTDCLTYPEDELETEDOTDOTPTRDOTMETHDOTINTERXDOTDOTTYPEDOTTYPE2EQNELTLEGEGTDEREFINDEXINDEXMAPKEYSTRUCTKEYLENMAKEMAKECHANMAKEMAPMAKESLICEMULDIVMODLSHRSHANDANDNOTNEWNEWOBJNOTBITNOTPLUSNEGORORPANICPRINTPRINTNPARENSENDSLICESLICEARRSLICESTRSLICE3SLICE3ARRSLICEHEADERRECOVERRECVRUNESTRSELRECVSELRECV2IOTAREALIMAGCOMPLEXALIGNOFOFFSETOFSIZEOFBLOCKBREAKCASEXCASECONTINUEDEFEREMPTYFALLFORFORUNTILGOTOIFLABELGORANGERETURNSELECTSWITCHTYPESWTCHANTMAPTSTRUCTTINTERTFUNCTARRAYDDDDDDARGINLCALLEFACEITABIDATASPTRCLOSUREVARCFUNCCHECKNILVARDEFVARKILLVARLIVEINDREGSPINLMARKRETJMPGETGEND"
 
-var _Op_index = [...]uint16{0, 3, 7, 13, 17, 21, 28, 31, 34, 36, 39, 45, 49, 55, 61, 70, 82, 91, 100, 112, 121, 123, 126, 133, 140, 147, 157, 161, 165, 173, 181, 190, 198, 201, 206, 213, 220, 226, 235, 243, 251, 257, 261, 270, 277, 281, 284, 291, 299, 307, 314, 320, 323, 329, 336, 344, 348, 355, 363, 365, 367, 369, 371, 373, 375, 380, 385, 393, 396, 405, 408, 412, 420, 427, 436, 439, 442, 445, 448, 451, 454, 460, 463, 466, 472, 476, 479, 483, 488, 493, 499, 504, 508, 513, 521, 529, 535, 544, 555, 562, 566, 573, 580, 588, 592, 596, 600, 607, 614, 622, 628, 633, 638, 642, 647, 655, 660, 665, 669, 672, 680, 684, 686, 691, 693, 698, 704, 710, 716, 722, 727, 731, 738, 744, 749, 755, 758, 764, 771, 776, 780, 785, 789, 799, 804, 812, 818, 825, 832, 840, 847, 853, 857, 860}
+var _Op_index = [...]uint16{0, 3, 7, 13, 17, 21, 28, 31, 34, 36, 39, 45, 49, 55, 61, 70, 82, 91, 100, 112, 121, 123, 126, 133, 140, 147, 157, 161, 165, 173, 181, 190, 198, 201, 206, 213, 220, 226, 235, 243, 251, 257, 261, 270, 277, 281, 284, 291, 299, 307, 314, 320, 323, 329, 336, 344, 348, 355, 363, 365, 367, 369, 371, 373, 375, 380, 385, 393, 396, 405, 408, 412, 420, 427, 436, 439, 442, 445, 448, 451, 454, 460, 463, 469, 472, 478, 482, 485, 489, 494, 499, 505, 510, 514, 519, 527, 535, 541, 550, 561, 568, 572, 579, 586, 594, 598, 602, 606, 613, 620, 628, 634, 639, 644, 648, 653, 661, 666, 671, 675, 678, 686, 690, 692, 697, 699, 704, 710, 716, 722, 728, 733, 737, 744, 750, 755, 761, 764, 770, 777, 782, 786, 791, 795, 805, 810, 818, 824, 831, 838, 846, 853, 859, 863, 866}
 
 func (i Op) String() string {
 	if i >= Op(len(_Op_index)-1) {
diff --git a/src/cmd/compile/internal/gc/ssa.go b/src/cmd/compile/internal/gc/ssa.go
index aa2e2c19c9..52515bdb1d 100644
--- a/src/cmd/compile/internal/gc/ssa.go
+++ b/src/cmd/compile/internal/gc/ssa.go
@@ -76,6 +76,7 @@ func initssaconfig() {
 	growslice = sysfunc("growslice")
 	msanread = sysfunc("msanread")
 	msanwrite = sysfunc("msanwrite")
+	newobject = sysfunc("newobject")
 	newproc = sysfunc("newproc")
 	panicdivide = sysfunc("panicdivide")
 	panicdottypeE = sysfunc("panicdottypeE")
@@ -94,6 +95,8 @@ func initssaconfig() {
 	typedmemmove = sysfunc("typedmemmove")
 	Udiv = sysvar("udiv")                 // asm func with special ABI
 	writeBarrier = sysvar("writeBarrier") // struct { bool; ... }
+	zerobaseSym = sysvar("zerobase")
+
 	if thearch.LinkArch.Family == sys.Wasm {
 		BoundsCheckFunc[ssa.BoundsIndex] = sysvar("goPanicIndex")
 		BoundsCheckFunc[ssa.BoundsIndexU] = sysvar("goPanicIndexU")
@@ -2453,6 +2456,14 @@ func (s *state) expr(n *Node) *ssa.Value {
 		}
 		return s.zeroVal(n.Type)
 
+	case ONEWOBJ:
+		if n.Type.Elem().Size() == 0 {
+			return s.newValue1A(ssa.OpAddr, n.Type, zerobaseSym, s.sb)
+		}
+		typ := s.expr(n.Left)
+		vv := s.rtcall(newobject, true, []*types.Type{n.Type}, typ)
+		return vv[0]
+
 	default:
 		s.Fatalf("unhandled expr %v", n.Op)
 		return nil
diff --git a/src/cmd/compile/internal/gc/syntax.go b/src/cmd/compile/internal/gc/syntax.go
index 5f07c6c52a..278633489e 100644
--- a/src/cmd/compile/internal/gc/syntax.go
+++ b/src/cmd/compile/internal/gc/syntax.go
@@ -668,7 +668,8 @@ const (
 	ORSH         // Left >> Right
 	OAND         // Left & Right
 	OANDNOT      // Left &^ Right
-	ONEW         // new(Left)
+	ONEW         // new(Left); corresponds to calls to new in source code
+	ONEWOBJ      // runtime.newobject(n.Type); introduced by walk; Left is type descriptor
 	ONOT         // !Left
 	OBITNOT      // ^Left
 	OPLUS        // +Left
diff --git a/src/cmd/compile/internal/gc/walk.go b/src/cmd/compile/internal/gc/walk.go
index 77f578197c..3533a3e230 100644
--- a/src/cmd/compile/internal/gc/walk.go
+++ b/src/cmd/compile/internal/gc/walk.go
@@ -481,7 +481,7 @@ opswitch:
 		Dump("walk", n)
 		Fatalf("walkexpr: switch 1 unknown op %+S", n)
 
-	case ONONAME, OINDREGSP, OEMPTY, OGETG:
+	case ONONAME, OINDREGSP, OEMPTY, OGETG, ONEWOBJ:
 
 	case OTYPE, ONAME, OLITERAL:
 		// TODO(mdempsky): Just return n; see discussion on CL 38655.
@@ -1944,21 +1944,11 @@ func callnew(t *types.Type) *Node {
 		yyerror("%v is go:notinheap; heap allocation disallowed", t)
 	}
 	dowidth(t)
-
-	if t.Size() == 0 {
-		// Return &runtime.zerobase if we know that the requested size is 0.
-		// This is what runtime.mallocgc would return.
-		z := newname(Runtimepkg.Lookup("zerobase"))
-		z.SetClass(PEXTERN)
-		z.Type = t
-		return typecheck(nod(OADDR, z, nil), ctxExpr)
-	}
-
-	fn := syslook("newobject")
-	fn = substArgTypes(fn, t)
-	v := mkcall1(fn, types.NewPtr(t), nil, typename(t))
-	v.SetNonNil(true)
-	return v
+	n := nod(ONEWOBJ, typename(t), nil)
+	n.Type = types.NewPtr(t)
+	n.SetTypecheck(1)
+	n.SetNonNil(true)
+	return n
 }
 
 // isReflectHeaderDataField reports whether l is an expression p.Data