diff --git a/i3lock.c b/i3lock.c
index d60fbed..2784e00 100644
--- a/i3lock.c
+++ b/i3lock.c
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
  *
  */
 #include <stdio.h>
+#include <locale.h>
 #include <stdlib.h>
 #include <pwd.h>
 #include <sys/types.h>
@@ -946,6 +947,8 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
 
         {NULL, no_argument, NULL, 0}};
 
+    setlocale(LC_ALL, "");
+
     if ((pw = getpwuid(getuid())) == NULL)
         err(EXIT_FAILURE, "getpwuid() failed");
     if ((username = pw->pw_name) == NULL)