diff --git a/chromadb/utils/embedding_functions/cohere_embedding_function.py b/chromadb/utils/embedding_functions/cohere_embedding_function.py
index fb1a5edfc57..fe620689fab 100644
--- a/chromadb/utils/embedding_functions/cohere_embedding_function.py
+++ b/chromadb/utils/embedding_functions/cohere_embedding_function.py
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ def __init__(
                 DeprecationWarning,
             )
         self.api_key_env_var = api_key_env_var
-        self.api_key = api_key or os.getenv(api_key_env_var)
+        self.api_key = api_key or os.environ.get(api_key_env_var)
         if not self.api_key:
             raise ValueError(f"The {api_key_env_var} environment variable is not set.")