diff --git a/pkgs/tools/inputmethods/m17n-lib/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/inputmethods/m17n-lib/default.nix
index c80f97363116..946d18a80ccc 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/inputmethods/m17n-lib/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/inputmethods/m17n-lib/default.nix
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-{lib, stdenv, fetchurl, m17n_db}:
+{ lib, stdenv, fetchurl, m17n_db, autoreconfHook, pkg-config }:
 stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   pname = "m17n-lib";
   version = "1.8.0";
@@ -8,6 +8,11 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     sha256 = "0jp61y09xqj10mclpip48qlfhniw8gwy8b28cbzxy8hq8pkwmfkq";
   };
 
+  strictDeps = true;
+
+  # reconf needed to sucesfully cross-compile
+  nativeBuildInputs = [ autoreconfHook pkg-config ];
+
   buildInputs = [ m17n_db ];
 
   meta = {