diff --git a/packages/compiler/src/frontend/lowering/builtins/filesystem.ts b/packages/compiler/src/frontend/lowering/builtins/filesystem.ts
index 3b32fa29b..d8272c795 100644
--- a/packages/compiler/src/frontend/lowering/builtins/filesystem.ts
+++ b/packages/compiler/src/frontend/lowering/builtins/filesystem.ts
@@ -1351,9 +1351,16 @@ export function lowerFsReaddirTypesCall(
     }
   }
   if (recursive !== null) {
-    const flag = lowerer.typeOf(recursive);
+    // Only the `true`/`false` keywords fold; any other expression, even one
+    // typed as a literal, evaluates at run time for its effects.
+    let flag = recursive;
+    while (ts.isParenthesizedExpression(flag)) flag = flag.expression;
     const literal =
-      flag.flags & ts.TypeFlags.BooleanLiteral ? lowerer.checker.typeToString(flag) : null;
+      flag.kind === ts.SyntaxKind.TrueKeyword
+        ? "true"
+        : flag.kind === ts.SyntaxKind.FalseKeyword
+          ? "false"
+          : null;
     if (sawWithFileTypes && literal !== "false") {
       lowerer.noLowering(
         `${operation} with withFileTypes and recursive`,
diff --git a/packages/compiler/src/frontend/lowering/lowerer.ts b/packages/compiler/src/frontend/lowering/lowerer.ts
index 3f3f6ea33..597ddb9da 100644
--- a/packages/compiler/src/frontend/lowering/lowerer.ts
+++ b/packages/compiler/src/frontend/lowering/lowerer.ts
@@ -6011,12 +6011,19 @@ export class Lowerer {
       if (!primitive(e.left) || !primitive(e.right)) return null;
       // A missing read is undefined, and `+` yields a number only when
       // neither operand is a string: an operand that is always a string
-      // (`"x-" + PAD[i]`) makes the result a string. A read, or a sum or
-      // call whose result may itself be NaN, is not always a string.
-      const definitelyString = (part: ts.Expression): boolean =>
-        !stringRead(part) &&
-        this.mapTypeOf(this.typeOf(part))?.kind === "string" &&
-        optionalPrimitiveResultType(part) === null;
+      // (`"x-" + PAD[i]`) makes the result a string. Only literals,
+      // templates and sums with such an operand are always strings; a
+      // binding or call can hold a missing read.
+      const definitelyString = (part: ts.Expression): boolean => {
+        const p = peel(part);
+        if (ts.isStringLiteral(p) || ts.isNoSubstitutionTemplateLiteral(p)) return true;
+        if (ts.isTemplateExpression(p)) return true;
+        return (
+          ts.isBinaryExpression(p) &&
+          p.operatorToken.kind === ts.SyntaxKind.PlusToken &&
+          (definitelyString(p.left) || definitelyString(p.right))
+        );
+      };
       if (definitelyString(e.left) || definitelyString(e.right)) return null;
       return { kind: "union", unionId: this.unions.intern([F64, STRING]) };
     };
diff --git a/tests/corpus/fs-readdir-recursive.ts b/tests/corpus/fs-readdir-recursive.ts
index 310cd3b52..39fd7f5cc 100644
--- a/tests/corpus/fs-readdir-recursive.ts
+++ b/tests/corpus/fs-readdir-recursive.ts
@@ -27,6 +27,22 @@ for (const flag of [false, true]) {
 }
 console.log(readdirSync(join(root, "empty"), { recursive: true }).length);
 
+// A flag expression typed `true` or `false` still evaluates, once.
+let probes = 0;
+function yes(): true {
+  probes++;
+  return true;
+}
+function no(): false {
+  probes++;
+  return false;
+}
+console.log(
+  readdirSync(join(root, "b"), { recursive: yes() }).length,
+  readdirSync(join(root, "b"), { recursive: no() }).length,
+  probes,
+);
+
 try {
   readdirSync(join(root, "missing"), { recursive: true });
 } catch (e) {
diff --git a/tests/corpus/string-plus-element-read-return.ts b/tests/corpus/string-plus-element-read-return.ts
index f4051f615..ec07fa3d5 100644
--- a/tests/corpus/string-plus-element-read-return.ts
+++ b/tests/corpus/string-plus-element-read-return.ts
@@ -25,3 +25,18 @@ function pair(i: number, j: number): string {
 }
 const both = pair(8, 9);
 console.log(pair(0, 1), typeof both, String(both));
+
+// A missing element held in a binding or returned by a function is undefined,
+// so two of them still add to NaN.
+function at(i: number): string {
+  return PAD[i];
+}
+function viaBinding(i: number, j: number): string {
+  const head = PAD[i];
+  return head + PAD[j];
+}
+function viaCall(i: number, j: number): string {
+  return at(i) + PAD[j];
+}
+console.log(viaBinding(0, 1), String(viaBinding(5, 6)), typeof viaBinding(5, 6));
+console.log(viaCall(0, 2), String(viaCall(5, 6)), viaBinding(0, 9));