diff --git a/pkgs/applications/audio/mbrola/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/audio/mbrola/default.nix
index 01a9fdd636b0..befa0ac206c3 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/audio/mbrola/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/audio/mbrola/default.nix
@@ -19,6 +19,9 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     sha256 = "1w86gv6zs2cbr0731n49z8v6xxw0g8b0hzyv2iqb9mqcfh38l8zy";
   };
 
+  # required for cross compilation
+  makeFlags = [ "CC=${stdenv.cc.targetPrefix}cc" ];
+
   installPhase = ''
     runHook preInstall
     install -D Bin/mbrola $out/bin/mbrola