diff --git a/pkgs/tools/misc/mandoc/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/misc/mandoc/default.nix
index 814cdeb43fd7..948db6ca9189 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/misc/mandoc/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/misc/mandoc/default.nix
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   '';
 
   preConfigure = ''
-    echo $configureLocal > configure.local
+    printf '%s' "$configureLocal" > configure.local
   '';
 
   meta = with lib; {