diff --git a/pkgs/by-name/ne/newt/package.nix b/pkgs/by-name/ne/newt/package.nix
index 6ab5c7875d40..da6dd8d342d6 100644
--- a/pkgs/by-name/ne/newt/package.nix
+++ b/pkgs/by-name/ne/newt/package.nix
@@ -42,9 +42,15 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     gettext # for darwin with clang
   ];
 
-  NIX_LDFLAGS =
-    "-lncurses"
-    + lib.optionalString stdenv.hostPlatform.isDarwin " -L${python3}/lib -lpython${python3.pythonVersion}";
+  env.NIX_LDFLAGS = toString (
+    [
+      "-lncurses"
+    ]
+    ++ lib.optionals stdenv.hostPlatform.isDarwin [
+      "-L${python3}/lib"
+      "-lpython${python3.pythonVersion}"
+    ]
+  );
 
   preConfigure = ''
     # If CPP is set explicitly, configure and make will not agree about which