diff --git a/runtime/lua/vim/treesitter/highlighter.lua b/runtime/lua/vim/treesitter/highlighter.lua
index 8ce8652f7d..96503c38ea 100644
--- a/runtime/lua/vim/treesitter/highlighter.lua
+++ b/runtime/lua/vim/treesitter/highlighter.lua
@@ -299,6 +299,8 @@ local function on_line_impl(self, buf, line, is_spell_nav)
         state.highlighter_query:query():iter_captures(root_node, self.bufnr, line, root_end_row + 1)
     end
 
+    local captures = state.highlighter_query:query().captures
+
     while line >= state.next_row do
       local capture, node, metadata, match = state.iter(line)
 
@@ -311,7 +313,7 @@ local function on_line_impl(self, buf, line, is_spell_nav)
       if capture then
         local hl = state.highlighter_query:get_hl_from_capture(capture)
 
-        local capture_name = state.highlighter_query:query().captures[capture]
+        local capture_name = captures[capture]
 
         local spell, spell_pri_offset = get_spell(capture_name)
 
diff --git a/runtime/lua/vim/treesitter/query.lua b/runtime/lua/vim/treesitter/query.lua
index ae22e9e385..3e930f3eae 100644
--- a/runtime/lua/vim/treesitter/query.lua
+++ b/runtime/lua/vim/treesitter/query.lua
@@ -4,6 +4,56 @@ local memoize = vim.func._memoize
 
 local M = {}
 
+local function is_directive(name)
+  return string.sub(name, -1) == '!'
+end
+
+---@alias Pattern (integer|string)[]
+
+---@nodoc
+---@class ProcessedPredicate
+---@field [1] string predicate name
+---@field [2] boolean should match
+---@field [3] Pattern
+
+---@alias ProcessedDirective Pattern
+
+---@private
+---@param patterns table<integer, Pattern[]>
+---@return table<integer, { preds: ProcessedPredicate[], directives: ProcessedDirective[] }>
+local function process_patterns(patterns)
+  ---@type table<integer, { preds: ProcessedPredicate[], directives: ProcessedDirective[] }>
+  local processed_patterns = {}
+
+  for k, pattern_list in pairs(patterns) do
+    ---@type ProcessedPredicate[]
+    local predicates = {}
+    ---@type ProcessedDirective[]
+    local directives = {}
+
+    for _, pattern in ipairs(pattern_list) do
+      -- Note: ree-sitter strips the leading # from predicates for us.
+      local pred_name = pattern[1]
+      ---@cast pred_name string
+
+      if is_directive(pred_name) then
+        table.insert(directives, pattern)
+      else
+        local should_match = true
+        if pred_name:match('^not%-') then
+          pred_name = pred_name:sub(5)
+          should_match = false
+        end
+        table.insert(predicates, { pred_name, should_match, pattern })
+      end
+    end
+
+    processed_patterns[k] = { preds = predicates, directives = directives }
+  end
+
+  return processed_patterns
+end
+
 ---@nodoc
 ---Parsed query, see |vim.treesitter.query.parse()|
 ---
@@ -12,6 +62,7 @@ local M = {}
 ---@field captures string[] list of (unique) capture names defined in query
 ---@field info vim.treesitter.QueryInfo contains information used in the query (e.g. captures, predicates, directives)
 ---@field query TSQuery userdata query object
+---@field processed_patterns table<integer, { preds: ProcessedPredicate[], directives: ProcessedDirective[] }>
 local Query = {}
 Query.__index = Query
 
@@ -30,6 +81,7 @@ function Query.new(lang, ts_query)
     patterns = query_info.patterns,
   }
   self.captures = self.info.captures
+  self.processed_patterns = process_patterns(self.info.patterns)
   return self
 end
 
@@ -740,67 +792,52 @@ function M.list_predicates()
   return vim.tbl_keys(predicate_handlers)
 end
 
-local function xor(x, y)
-  return (x or y) and not (x and y)
-end
-
-local function is_directive(name)
-  return string.sub(name, -1) == '!'
-end
-
 ---@private
+---@param preds ProcessedPredicate[]
 ---@param match TSQueryMatch
 ---@param source integer|string
-function Query:match_preds(preds, pattern, captures, source)
-  for _, pred in pairs(preds) do
+function Query:match_preds(preds, pattern_i, captures, source)
+  for _, pred in ipairs(preds) do
     -- Here we only want to return if a predicate DOES NOT match, and
     -- continue on the other case. This way unknown predicates will not be considered,
     -- which allows some testing and easier user extensibility (#12173).
-    -- Also, tree-sitter strips the leading # from predicates for us.
-    local is_not = false
 
-    -- Skip over directives... they will get processed after all the predicates.
-    if not is_directive(pred[1]) then
-      local pred_name = pred[1]
-      if pred_name:match('^not%-') then
-        pred_name = pred_name:sub(5)
-        is_not = true
-      end
+    local processed_name = pred[1]
+    local should_match = pred[2]
+    local pattern = pred[3]
 
-      local handler = predicate_handlers[pred_name]
+    local handler = predicate_handlers[processed_name]
 
-      if not handler then
-        error(string.format('No handler for %s', pred[1]))
-        return false
-      end
+    if not handler then
+      error(string.format('No handler for %s', pattern[1]))
+      return false
+    end
 
-      local pred_matches = handler(captures, pattern, source, pred)
+    local pred_matches = handler(captures, pattern_i, source, pattern)
 
-      if not xor(is_not, pred_matches) then
-        return false
-      end
+    if pred_matches ~= should_match then
+      return false
     end
   end
   return true
 end
 
 ---@private
+---@param directives ProcessedDirective[]
 ---@param match TSQueryMatch
 ---@return vim.treesitter.query.TSMetadata metadata
-function Query:apply_directives(preds, pattern, captures, source)
+function Query:apply_directives(directives, pattern_i, captures, source)
   ---@type vim.treesitter.query.TSMetadata
   local metadata = {}
 
-  for _, pred in pairs(preds) do
-    if is_directive(pred[1]) then
-      local handler = directive_handlers[pred[1]]
+  for _, directive in pairs(directives) do
+    local handler = directive_handlers[directive[1]]
 
-      if not handler then
-        error(string.format('No handler for %s', pred[1]))
-      end
-
-      handler(captures, pattern, source, pred, metadata)
+    if not handler then
+      error(string.format('No handler for %s', directive[1]))
     end
+
+    handler(captures, pattern_i, source, directive, metadata)
   end
 
   return metadata
@@ -824,12 +861,6 @@ local function value_or_node_range(start, stop, node)
   return start, stop
 end
 
---- @param match TSQueryMatch
---- @return integer
-local function match_id_hash(_, match)
-  return (match:info())
-end
-
 --- Iterate over all captures from all matches inside {node}
 ---
 --- {source} is needed if the query contains predicates; then the caller
@@ -892,11 +923,11 @@ function Query:iter_captures(node, source, start, stop)
     end
 
     if not metadata then
-      local preds = self.info.patterns[pattern]
-      if preds then
+      local patterns = self.processed_patterns[pattern]
+      if patterns then
         local captures = match:captures()
 
-        if not self:match_preds(preds, pattern, captures, source) then
+        if not self:match_preds(patterns.preds, pattern, captures, source) then
           cursor:remove_match(match_id)
           if end_line and captured_node:range() > end_line then
             return nil, captured_node, nil, nil
@@ -904,7 +935,7 @@ function Query:iter_captures(node, source, start, stop)
           return iter(end_line) -- tail call: try next match
         end
 
-        metadata = self:apply_directives(preds, pattern, captures, source)
+        metadata = self:apply_directives(patterns.directives, pattern, captures, source)
       else
         metadata = {}
       end
@@ -975,17 +1006,17 @@ function Query:iter_matches(node, source, start, stop, opts)
     end
 
     local match_id, pattern = match:info()
-    local preds = self.info.patterns[pattern]
+    local patterns = self.processed_patterns[pattern]
     local captures = match:captures()
 
     --- @type vim.treesitter.query.TSMetadata
     local metadata
-    if preds then
-      if not self:match_preds(preds, pattern, captures, source) then
+    if patterns then
+      if not self:match_preds(patterns.preds, pattern, captures, source) then
         cursor:remove_match(match_id)
         return iter() -- tail call: try next match
       end
-      metadata = self:apply_directives(preds, pattern, captures, source)
+      metadata = self:apply_directives(patterns.directives, pattern, captures, source)
     else
       metadata = {}
     end