diff --git a/pkgs/tools/misc/nanoemoji/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/misc/nanoemoji/default.nix
index 0e584bc978aa..93817ff84798 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/misc/nanoemoji/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/misc/nanoemoji/default.nix
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ python3.pkgs.buildPythonApplication rec {
 
   preCheck = ''
     # make sure the built binaries (nanoemoji/maximum_color) can be found by the test
-    export PATH="$out/bin:''${PATH}"
+    export PATH="$out/bin:$PATH"
   '';
 
   meta = with lib; {