diff --git a/src/whisper_ctx.rs b/src/whisper_ctx.rs
index 954f157..9553702 100644
--- a/src/whisper_ctx.rs
+++ b/src/whisper_ctx.rs
@@ -306,14 +306,14 @@ impl WhisperContext {
     /// * token_id: ID of the token.
     ///
     /// # Returns
-    /// Ok(String) on success, Err(WhisperError) on failure.
+    /// Ok(&str) on success, Err(WhisperError) on failure.
     ///
     /// # C++ equivalent
     /// `const char * whisper_token_to_str(struct whisper_context * ctx, whisper_token token)`
-    pub fn token_to_str(&self, token_id: WhisperToken) -> Result<String, WhisperError> {
+    pub fn token_to_str(&self, token_id: WhisperToken) -> Result<&str, WhisperError> {
         let c_str = self.token_to_cstr(token_id)?;
         let r_str = c_str.to_str()?;
-        Ok(r_str.to_string())
+        Ok(r_str)
     }
 
     /// Convert a token ID to a &CStr.