diff --git a/smart_open/hdfs.py b/smart_open/hdfs.py
index a1cf3485..083e793f 100644
--- a/smart_open/hdfs.py
+++ b/smart_open/hdfs.py
@@ -143,7 +143,7 @@ def __init__(self, uri):
 
     @property
     def closed(self):
-        return self._sub is None or self._sub.stdin.closed
+        return self._sub is None
 
     def close(self):
         if self.closed: