AI replying in the wrong language? How to fix it

Three ways it goes wrong

• The whole reply comes back in English although you wrote in Spanish.
• The chat starts in your language, then slides into English after a few dozen messages.
• Mixed replies: narration in English and dialogue in yours, or English words dropped mid-sentence.

All three have one root. The model writes in whatever language dominates the text it is reading, and in most apps the character card, the instructions and the greeting are in English. Your messages are the only part in your language, so they have to outweigh everything else.

Why long chats drift

In a new chat, your message is a big share of what the model sees. Later, a few English lines tip the balance: an English OOC note, a quoted sign or song, a name that sounds English. Each English reply makes the next one more likely. Short messages from you also weigh less than long replies from the character, so drift shows up most when you write briefly.

Fix it inside the chat

• Write your OOC notes in your language as well. An English note in a Portuguese chat is an invitation to switch.
• Edit or reroll any reply that slips instead of carrying on; one English reply left in view pulls the next.
• If your persona is written in English, translate it. It is sent with every message.
• Add one standing instruction, written in your language, which holds better than the same request in English:

In SillyTavern and JanitorAI

The card is usually where the English weight sits. If it is yours to edit, translate the first message and the example dialogue; those two fields shape replies more than the description does. Then put the instruction somewhere it is sent every turn: in SillyTavern, the Main Prompt of your Chat Completion preset or an Author's Note; in JanitorAI with a proxy, the custom prompt in your proxy settings. Write the instruction itself in your language, and if you want names or spells left in English, say so in the same line.

On UnsavedAI

Characters here answer in the language you write in, so the main fix is to write in your language from the very first line, OOC notes included. If a reply still comes back in English, use Another version, or edit your message and send it again. The menus and pages are in English and the read-aloud voices speak English, but the story follows you.

Guides written for Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Italian and Indonesian speakers start at rol con IA en español. If you want replies in a language you are learning rather than your own, practising a language with AI roleplay covers that, and characters like Luz Adriana and Seu Geraldo are built for Spanish and Portuguese practice.

Questions people ask