diff --git a/intl/hash-string.c b/intl/hash-string.c
index e4b0f8fe57..465456f4b5 100644
--- a/intl/hash-string.c
+++ b/intl/hash-string.c
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ __hash_string (str_param)
   while (*str != '\0')
     {
       hval <<= 4;
-      hval += (unsigned long int) *str++;
+      hval += (unsigned char) *str++;
       g = hval & ((unsigned long int) 0xf << (HASHWORDBITS - 4));
       if (g != 0)
 	{