diff --git a/internal/providers/deepseek.go b/internal/providers/deepseek.go
index a9e4070f..098a5cbe 100644
--- a/internal/providers/deepseek.go
+++ b/internal/providers/deepseek.go
@@ -62,6 +62,9 @@ func (u *deepSeekUsage) ToUnified() *models.Usage {
 }
 
 func (p *DeepSeekProvider) ChatCompletion(ctx context.Context, req *models.UnifiedRequest) (*models.ChatCompletionResponse, error) {
+	// Ensure English responses — DeepSeek defaults to Chinese for some prompts
+	ensureEnglish(req)
+
 	messagesJSON, err := MessagesToOpenAIJSON(req.Messages)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to convert messages: %w", err)
@@ -129,6 +132,8 @@ func (p *DeepSeekProvider) ChatCompletion(ctx context.Context, req *models.Unifi
 }
 
 func (p *DeepSeekProvider) ChatCompletionStream(ctx context.Context, req *models.UnifiedRequest) (<-chan *models.ChatCompletionStreamResponse, error) {
+	ensureEnglish(req)
+
 	messagesJSON, err := MessagesToOpenAIJSON(req.Messages)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to convert messages: %w", err)
diff --git a/internal/providers/helpers.go b/internal/providers/helpers.go
index a21250ad..ad8d6c54 100644
--- a/internal/providers/helpers.go
+++ b/internal/providers/helpers.go
@@ -445,3 +445,19 @@ func StreamGemini(ctx io.ReadCloser, ch chan<- *models.ChatCompletionStreamRespo
 
 	return nil
 }
+
+// ensureEnglish injects a system message instructing the model to respond in
+// English when no system prompt is already present. Some providers (e.g. DeepSeek)
+// default to Chinese for certain prompts.
+func ensureEnglish(req *models.UnifiedRequest) {
+	if len(req.Messages) > 0 && req.Messages[0].Role == "system" {
+		return // already has a system prompt, don't interfere
+	}
+	enMsg := models.UnifiedMessage{
+		Role: "system",
+		Content: []models.UnifiedContentPart{
+			{Type: "text", Text: "You are a helpful assistant. Always respond in English."},
+		},
+	}
+	req.Messages = append([]models.UnifiedMessage{enMsg}, req.Messages...)
+}