diff --git a/nixos/modules/programs/command-not-found/command-not-found.pl b/nixos/modules/programs/command-not-found/command-not-found.pl
index ab7aa204653..63c4925d433 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/programs/command-not-found/command-not-found.pl
+++ b/nixos/modules/programs/command-not-found/command-not-found.pl
@@ -27,8 +27,8 @@ if (!defined $res || scalar @$res == 0) {
     my $package = @$res[0]->{package};
     if ($ENV{"NIX_AUTO_INSTALL"} // "") {
         print STDERR <<EOF;
-The program ‘$program’ is currently not installed. It is provided by
-the package ‘$package’, which I will now install for you.
+The program '$program' is currently not installed. It is provided by
+the package '$package', which I will now install for you.
 EOF
         ;
         exit 126 if system("nix-env", "-iA", "nixos.$package") == 0;
@@ -36,16 +36,17 @@ EOF
         exec("nix-shell", "-p", $package, "--run", shell_quote("exec", @ARGV));
     } else {
         print STDERR <<EOF;
-The program ‘$program’ is currently not installed. You can install it by typing:
-  nix-env -iA nixos.$package
+The program '$program' is not in your PATH. You can make it available in a
+ephemeral shell by typing:
+  nix-shell -p $package
 EOF
     }
 } else {
     print STDERR <<EOF;
-The program ‘$program’ is currently not installed. It is provided by
-several packages. You can install it by typing one of the following:
+The program '$program' is not in your PATH. It is provided by several packages.
+You can make it available in a ephemeral shell by typing one of the following:
 EOF
-    print STDERR "  nix-env -iA nixos.$_->{package}\n" foreach @$res;
+    print STDERR "  nix-shell -p $_->{package}\n" foreach @$res;
 }
 
 exit 127;