diff --git a/src/compiler/path.ts b/src/compiler/path.ts
index 27b5330b2cedc..d09108d34c7f3 100644
--- a/src/compiler/path.ts
+++ b/src/compiler/path.ts
@@ -552,6 +552,19 @@ namespace ts {
 
     export function normalizePath(path: string): string {
         path = normalizeSlashes(path);
+        // Most paths don't require normalization
+        if (!relativePathSegmentRegExp.test(path)) {
+            return path;
+        }
+        // Some paths only require cleanup of `/./` or leading `./`
+        const simplified = path.replace(/\/\.\//g, "/").replace(/^\.\//, "");
+        if (simplified !== path) {
+            path = simplified;
+            if (!relativePathSegmentRegExp.test(path)) {
+                return path;
+            }
+        }
+        // Other paths require full normalization
         const normalized = getPathFromPathComponents(reducePathComponents(getPathComponents(path)));
         return normalized && hasTrailingDirectorySeparator(path) ? ensureTrailingDirectorySeparator(normalized) : normalized;
     }