diff --git a/crates/uv-virtualenv/src/virtualenv.rs b/crates/uv-virtualenv/src/virtualenv.rs
index bad380c4c..a80e74b02 100644
--- a/crates/uv-virtualenv/src/virtualenv.rs
+++ b/crates/uv-virtualenv/src/virtualenv.rs
@@ -353,7 +353,7 @@ pub(crate) fn create(
             }
             (true, "activate.bat") => r"%~dp0..".to_string(),
             (true, "activate.fish") => {
-                r#"'"$(dirname -- "$(cd "$(dirname -- "$(status -f)")"; and pwd)")"'"#.to_string()
+                r#""$(dirname -- "$(dirname -- "$(realpath -- "$(status filename)")")")""#.to_string()
             }
             // Note:
             // * relocatable activate scripts appear not to be possible in csh and nu shell