A connecting piece (1) is disposed between a carburetor (4) and an inlet channel (3) in an internal combustion engine of a portable handheld motor-driven work apparatus. The connecting piece functions to compensate for relative position changes between the engine and the carburetor (4), is made of elastic material and includes an expansion fold (5) for compensating for changes in position. The length of the expansion fold (5) is changeable from a collapsed to an expanded length. The expansion fold (5) subdivides the connecting piece (1) into a carburetor-end channel section (6) having a circularly-shaped cross section and an engine-end channel section (7) having a cross section departing from the circular form at the end facing toward the engine. The connecting piece (1) has a constant flow cross section over its entire length when the expansion fold (5) is collapsed.