diff --git a/build.rs b/build.rs
index 27e134bf5e..c94c77b7fa 100644
--- a/build.rs
+++ b/build.rs
@@ -679,7 +679,13 @@ fn gn() -> String {
  * variable or defaulting to `python3`.
  */
 fn python() -> String {
-  env::var("PYTHON").unwrap_or_else(|_| "python3".to_owned())
+  env::var("PYTHON").unwrap_or_else(|_| {
+    if cfg!(target_os = "windows") {
+      "python".to_owned()
+    } else {
+      "python3".to_owned()
+    }
+  })
 }
 
 type NinjaEnv = Vec<(String, String)>;