diff --git a/helpers/mysql b/helpers/mysql
index 94179f2fd..e4bcb42f6 100644
--- a/helpers/mysql
+++ b/helpers/mysql
@@ -136,13 +136,15 @@ ynh_mysql_drop_db() {
 # Requires YunoHost version 2.2.4 or higher.
 ynh_mysql_dump_db() {
     # Declare an array to define the options of this helper.
-    local legacy_args=d
-    local -A args_array=([d]=database=)
+    local legacy_args=dc
+    local -A args_array=( [d]=database= [c]=default_character_set= )
     local database
+    local default_character_set
     # Manage arguments with getopts
     ynh_handle_getopts_args "$@"
+    default_character_set="${default_character_set:-latin1}"
 
-    mysqldump --single-transaction --skip-dump-date --routines "$database"
+    mysqldump --single-transaction --skip-dump-date --routines --default-character-set=$default_character_set "$database"
 }
 
 # Create a user