diff --git a/src/character.c b/src/character.c
index 95af6c3eb0c..6347617d508 100644
--- a/src/character.c
+++ b/src/character.c
@@ -637,8 +637,8 @@ str_as_multibyte (unsigned char *str, ptrdiff_t len, ptrdiff_t nbytes,
 	      c = BYTE8_TO_CHAR (c);
 	      to += CHAR_STRING (c, to);
 	    }
+	  chars++;
 	}
-      chars++;
     }
   while (p < endp)
     {