diff --git a/direnvrc b/direnvrc
index 7f62b43..0945252 100644
--- a/direnvrc
+++ b/direnvrc
@@ -336,7 +336,7 @@ use_nix() {
       if [[ "$attribute" == "" ]]; then
         extra_args+=("--file" "$nixfile")
       else
-        extra_args+=("--expr" "(import ${nixfile}).$}attribute}")
+        extra_args+=("--expr" "(import ${nixfile}).${attribute}")
       fi
     fi