diff --git a/lib/std/fs.zig b/lib/std/fs.zig
index 6cb7d478b2..c574737194 100644
--- a/lib/std/fs.zig
+++ b/lib/std/fs.zig
@@ -1112,6 +1112,16 @@ pub const Dir = struct {
     pub fn deleteFile(self: Dir, sub_path: []const u8) DeleteFileError!void {
         os.unlinkat(self.fd, sub_path, 0) catch |err| switch (err) {
             error.DirNotEmpty => unreachable, // not passing AT_REMOVEDIR
+            error.AccessDenied => |e| switch (builtin.os.tag) {
+                // non-Linux POSIX systems return EPERM when trying to delete a directory, so
+                // we need to handle that case specifically and translate the error
+                .macosx, .ios, .freebsd, .netbsd, .dragonfly => {
+                    const fstat = os.fstatat(self.fd, sub_path, 0) catch return e;
+                    const is_dir = fstat.mode & os.S_IFMT == os.S_IFDIR;
+                    return if (is_dir) error.IsDir else e;
+                },
+                else => return e,
+            },
             else => |e| return e,
         };
     }
@@ -1122,6 +1132,16 @@ pub const Dir = struct {
     pub fn deleteFileZ(self: Dir, sub_path_c: [*:0]const u8) DeleteFileError!void {
         os.unlinkatZ(self.fd, sub_path_c, 0) catch |err| switch (err) {
             error.DirNotEmpty => unreachable, // not passing AT_REMOVEDIR
+            error.AccessDenied => |e| switch (builtin.os.tag) {
+                // non-Linux POSIX systems return EPERM when trying to delete a directory, so
+                // we need to handle that case specifically and translate the error
+                .macosx, .ios, .freebsd, .netbsd, .dragonfly => {
+                    const fstat = os.fstatatZ(self.fd, sub_path_c, 0) catch return e;
+                    const is_dir = fstat.mode & os.S_IFMT == os.S_IFDIR;
+                    return if (is_dir) error.IsDir else e;
+                },
+                else => return e,
+            },
             else => |e| return e,
         };
     }