diff --git a/crates/nu-command/src/system/run_external.rs b/crates/nu-command/src/system/run_external.rs
index 0b9f1950ea..c812280b62 100644
--- a/crates/nu-command/src/system/run_external.rs
+++ b/crates/nu-command/src/system/run_external.rs
@@ -473,6 +473,15 @@ pub fn command_not_found(
         };
     }
 
+    // If we find a file, it's likely that the user forgot to set permissions
+    if Path::new(name).is_file() {
+        return ShellError::ExternalCommand {
+                        label: format!("Command `{name}` not found"),
+                        help: format!("`{name}` refers to a file that is not executable. Did you forget to to set execute permissions?"),
+                        span,
+                    };
+    }
+
     // We found nothing useful. Give up and return a generic error message.
     ShellError::ExternalCommand {
         label: format!("Command `{name}` not found"),
diff --git a/tests/shell/pipeline/commands/external.rs b/tests/shell/pipeline/commands/external.rs
index ff851a3293..5b9f116626 100644
--- a/tests/shell/pipeline/commands/external.rs
+++ b/tests/shell/pipeline/commands/external.rs
@@ -127,6 +127,15 @@ fn command_not_found_error_suggests_typo_fix() {
     assert!(actual.err.contains("timeit"));
 }
 
+#[cfg(not(windows))]
+#[test]
+fn command_not_found_error_recognizes_non_executable_file() {
+    let actual = nu!("./Cargo.toml");
+    assert!(actual.err.contains(
+        "refers to a file that is not executable. Did you forget to to set execute permissions?"
+    ));
+}
+
 #[test]
 fn command_not_found_error_shows_not_found_1() {
     let actual = nu!(r#"