diff --git a/include/basetyps.h b/include/basetyps.h
index 82b25b7a179..18e15dcabd7 100644
--- a/include/basetyps.h
+++ b/include/basetyps.h
@@ -83,7 +83,9 @@ typedef unsigned long error_status_t;
 #endif
 
 #ifndef _WCHAR_T_DEFINED
+#ifndef __cplusplus
 typedef unsigned short wchar_t;
+#endif
 #define _WCHAR_T_DEFINED
 #endif