diff --git a/parso/utils.py b/parso/utils.py
index 2160d2d..5394bff 100644
--- a/parso/utils.py
+++ b/parso/utils.py
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 import re
 from ast import literal_eval
 
+from parso._compatibility import unicode
+
 
 def splitlines(string, keepends=False):
     """