diff --git a/drw.c b/drw.c
index a50c9ee..2f3a5df 100644
--- a/drw.c
+++ b/drw.c
@@ -267,7 +267,7 @@ drw_text(Drw *drw, int x, int y, unsigned int w, unsigned int h, unsigned int lp
 	enum { nomatches_len = 64 };
 	static struct { long codepoint[nomatches_len]; unsigned int idx; } nomatches;
 
-	if (!drw || (render && !drw->scheme) || !text || !drw->fonts)
+	if (!drw || (render && (!drw->scheme || !w)) || !text || !drw->fonts)
 		return 0;
 
 	if (!render) {