diff --git a/libs/popt/Makefile b/libs/popt/Makefile
index 7ddf7fce2..aad40d80f 100644
--- a/libs/popt/Makefile
+++ b/libs/popt/Makefile
@@ -56,3 +56,7 @@ define Build/UninstallDev
 endef
 
 $(eval $(call BuildPackage,libpopt))
+
+$(eval $(call RequireCommand,gettext, \
+	popt requires GNU gettext to build. \
+))