diff --git a/pkgs/desktops/gnome-3/apps/gnome-characters/default.nix b/pkgs/desktops/gnome-3/apps/gnome-characters/default.nix
index 0c2716de9ef..54c36fc333a 100644
--- a/pkgs/desktops/gnome-3/apps/gnome-characters/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/desktops/gnome-3/apps/gnome-characters/default.nix
@@ -23,7 +23,12 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   };
 
   nativeBuildInputs = [ meson ninja pkgconfig gettext wrapGAppsHook python3 gobjectIntrospection ];
-  buildInputs = [ glib gtk3 gjs pango gnome3.gsettings-desktop-schemas gnome3.defaultIconTheme libunistring ];
+  buildInputs = [
+    glib gtk3 gjs pango gnome3.gsettings-desktop-schemas
+    gnome3.defaultIconTheme libunistring
+    # typelib
+    gnome3.gnome-desktop
+  ];
 
   mesonFlags = [
     "-Ddbus_service_dir=${placeholder "out"}/share/dbus-1/services"