diff --git a/pkgs/development/python-modules/meson-python/add-build-flags.sh b/pkgs/development/python-modules/meson-python/add-build-flags.sh
index dd31fc453656..8604ba9ebe7c 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/python-modules/meson-python/add-build-flags.sh
+++ b/pkgs/development/python-modules/meson-python/add-build-flags.sh
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 mesonPythonBuildFlagsHook() {
   # Add all of mesonFlags to -Csetup-args for pypa builds
-  for f in $mesonFlags "${mesonFlagsArray[@]}"; do
+  local flagsArray=()
+  concatTo flagsArray mesonFlags mesonFlagsArray
+  for f in "${flagsArray[@]}"; do
     appendToVar pypaBuildFlags "-Csetup-args=$f"
     # This requires pip>23.0.1, see: https://meson-python.readthedocs.io/en/latest/how-to-guides/config-settings.html
     appendToVar pipBuildFlags "--config-settings=setup-args=$f"