diff --git a/output.c b/output.c
index 59cedb809..e31e96e57 100644
--- a/output.c
+++ b/output.c
@@ -377,7 +377,7 @@ int writech( wint_t ch )
 {
 	mbstate_t state;
 	int i;
-	char buff[MB_CUR_MAX+1];
+	char buff[MB_LEN_MAX+1];
 	size_t bytes;
 
 	if( ( ch >= ENCODE_DIRECT_BASE) &&