diff --git a/package/pcre2/pcre2.mk b/package/pcre2/pcre2.mk
index 043f6d866f..06a0afc9b8 100644
--- a/package/pcre2/pcre2.mk
+++ b/package/pcre2/pcre2.mk
@@ -28,5 +28,8 @@ ifeq ($(BR2_USE_MMU),)
 PCRE2_CONF_OPTS += --disable-pcre2grep-callout
 endif
 
+# needed for qt6base
+HOST_PCRE2_CONF_OPTS = --enable-pcre2-16
+
 $(eval $(autotools-package))
 $(eval $(host-autotools-package))