diff --git a/pkgs/development/python-modules/cchardet/default.nix b/pkgs/development/python-modules/cchardet/default.nix
index 587d0d1f6c126..1ec1ee57c1a78 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/python-modules/cchardet/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/python-modules/cchardet/default.nix
@@ -2,19 +2,24 @@
 , stdenv
 , buildPythonPackage
 , fetchPypi
-, python
+, cython
 , nose
 }:
 
 buildPythonPackage rec {
   pname = "cchardet";
   version = "2.1.7";
+  format = "setuptools";
 
   src = fetchPypi {
     inherit pname version;
     sha256 = "c428b6336545053c2589f6caf24ea32276c6664cb86db817e03a94c60afa0eaf";
   };
 
+  nativeBuildInputs = [
+    cython # pending https://github.com/PyYoshi/cChardet/pull/78 being released to PyPI
+  ];
+
   pythonImportsCheck = [
     "cchardet"
   ];