diff --git a/modules/input/gtkimcontextime.c b/modules/input/gtkimcontextime.c
index 30c56c59cd..5bc65793e2 100644
--- a/modules/input/gtkimcontextime.c
+++ b/modules/input/gtkimcontextime.c
@@ -336,6 +336,9 @@ gtk_im_context_ime_filter_keypress (GtkIMContext *context,
     return FALSE;
 
   utf8 = g_utf16_to_utf8 (event_priv->translation, event_priv->translation_len, NULL, NULL, NULL);
+  if (!utf8)
+    return FALSE;
+
   g_signal_emit_by_name (context_ime, "commit", utf8);
   g_free (utf8);