diff --git a/git-gui.sh b/git-gui.sh
index 259251ba19..e4a9230ea0 100755
--- a/git-gui.sh
+++ b/git-gui.sh
@@ -1947,7 +1947,7 @@ proc do_explore {} {
 		# freedesktop.org-conforming system is our best shot
 		set explorer "xdg-open"
 	}
-	eval exec $explorer [file dirname [gitdir]] &
+	eval exec $explorer [list [file nativename [file dirname [gitdir]]]] &
 }
 
 set is_quitting 0