diff --git a/wc.c b/wc.c
index ed2c94d..e57cb4c 100644
--- a/wc.c
+++ b/wc.c
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ wc(FILE *fp, const char *str)
 	size_t nc = 0, nl = 0, nw = 0;
 
 	while ((rlen = efgetrune(&c, fp, str))) {
-		nc += (cmode == 'c') ? rlen :
+		nc += (cmode == 'c' || !cmode) ? rlen :
 		      (c != Runeerror) ? 1 : 0;
 		if (c == '\n')
 			nl++;