diff --git a/pkgs/by-name/sd/SDL_ttf/package.nix b/pkgs/by-name/sd/SDL_ttf/package.nix
index dbbb1fff2b71..d6f12b8287d9 100644
--- a/pkgs/by-name/sd/SDL_ttf/package.nix
+++ b/pkgs/by-name/sd/SDL_ttf/package.nix
@@ -33,6 +33,8 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation (finalAttrs: {
     (lib.enableFeature enableSdltest "sdltest")
   ];
 
+  env.NIX_LDFLAGS = lib.optionalString stdenv.hostPlatform.isDarwin "-liconv";
+
   strictDeps = true;
 
   passthru.updateScript = unstableGitUpdater {