diff --git a/pkgs/tools/typesetting/tex/texlive/bin.nix b/pkgs/tools/typesetting/tex/texlive/bin.nix
index 6876e4090074..255c208783f9 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/typesetting/tex/texlive/bin.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/typesetting/tex/texlive/bin.nix
@@ -30,6 +30,14 @@ let
       for i in texk/kpathsea/mktex*; do
         sed -i '/^mydir=/d' "$i"
       done
+
+      # ST_NLINK_TRICK causes kpathsea to treat folders with no real subfolders
+      # as leaves, even if they contain symlinks to other folders; must be
+      # disabled to work correctly with the nix store", see section 5.3.6
+      # “Subdirectory expansion” of the kpathsea manual
+      # http://mirrors.ctan.org/systems/doc/kpathsea/kpathsea.pdf for more
+      # details
+      sed -i '/^#define ST_NLINK_TRICK/d' texk/kpathsea/config.h
     '';
 
     configureFlags = [