diff --git a/rust/src/tokenizer/src/incremental.rs b/rust/src/tokenizer/src/incremental.rs
index 7a025d35e5c..462475fc918 100644
--- a/rust/src/tokenizer/src/incremental.rs
+++ b/rust/src/tokenizer/src/incremental.rs
@@ -115,6 +115,8 @@ impl<T: Tokenizer + ?Sized> IncrementalDecoder for DecodeStream<'_, T> {
 
     fn next_chunk(&mut self) -> Option<String> {
         let cutoff = self.cumulative_output.len().saturating_sub(self.min_bytes_to_buffer);
+        // Ensure we split at a utf-8 char boundary.
+        let cutoff = self.cumulative_output.floor_char_boundary(cutoff);
         (cutoff > self.output_index).then(|| {
             let chunk = self.cumulative_output[self.output_index..cutoff].to_string();
             self.output_index = cutoff;
@@ -356,4 +358,27 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(last_chunk.as_deref(), Some("lo!"));
         assert_eq!(full_text, "Hello!");
     }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn next_chunk_cutoff_respects_char_boundary() {
+        // Regression: next_chunk's cutoff (len - min_bytes_to_buffer) must be
+        // aligned to a UTF-8 char boundary like push_token/flush; otherwise
+        // streaming multi-byte output (CJK/emoji) with a hold-back buffer (set
+        // by a stop string) panics slicing cumulative_output mid-character.
+        let backend = Utf8Backend;
+        let mut decoder = backend.create_decode_stream(&[], false, 2);
+        let mut out = String::new();
+        for byte in "你好A".bytes() {
+            decoder.push_token(u32::from(byte)).unwrap();
+            if let Some(chunk) = decoder.next_chunk() {
+                out.push_str(&chunk);
+            }
+        }
+        let (last_chunk, full_text) = decoder.flush(None).unwrap();
+        if let Some(chunk) = last_chunk {
+            out.push_str(&chunk);
+        }
+        assert_eq!(full_text, "你好A");
+        assert_eq!(out, "你好A");
+    }
 }