diff --git a/libs/gdbm/Makefile b/libs/gdbm/Makefile
index 21ecfb2dd..a8d1926c5 100644
--- a/libs/gdbm/Makefile
+++ b/libs/gdbm/Makefile
@@ -23,6 +23,8 @@ PKG_FIXUP:=autoreconf gettext-version
 PKG_REMOVE_FILES:=Makefile compat/Makefile doc/Makefile export/Makefile src/Makefile tests/Makefile
 PKG_BUILD_PARALLEL:=0
 
+PKG_BUILD_DEPENDS:=gettext-full/host
+
 include $(INCLUDE_DIR)/package.mk
 
 define Package/libgdbm