diff --git a/src/convert/serde_json.rs b/src/convert/serde_json.rs
index 023b7c5..f0cb308 100644
--- a/src/convert/serde_json.rs
+++ b/src/convert/serde_json.rs
@@ -4,20 +4,16 @@
 //!
 //! ## Mapping
 //!
-//! All JSON (de)serialization errors are currently mapped to
-//! `AppErrorKind::Internal` with the original error string preserved
-//! in `message` for observability.
-//!
-//! If you want finer granularity, you can inspect the
-//! [`serde_json::Error::classify`] result and map separately to `Serialization`
-//! or `Deserialization` kinds.
+//! Errors are classified using [`serde_json::Error::classify`]. I/O failures
+//! are mapped to [`AppErrorKind::Serialization`]; syntax, data and EOF errors
+//! map to [`AppErrorKind::Deserialization`]. The original error string is
+//! preserved in `message` for observability.
 //!
 //! ## Rationale
 //!
-//! `serde_json::Error` is used both for encoding and decoding JSON. In many
-//! service backends, a failure here means either an unexpected input format
-//! or an internal bug in serialization code. To avoid leaking specifics to
-//! clients, the default mapping treats it as an internal server error.
+//! `serde_json::Error` is used both for encoding and decoding JSON. Classifying
+//! errors lets callers distinguish between failures while keeping a stable
+//! mapping in the API surface.
 //!
 //! ## Example
 //!
@@ -31,25 +27,65 @@
 //!
 //! let err = serde_json::from_str::<serde_json::Value>("not-json").unwrap_err();
 //! let app_err = handle_json_error(err);
-//! assert!(matches!(app_err.kind, AppErrorKind::Internal));
+//! assert!(matches!(app_err.kind, AppErrorKind::Deserialization));
 //! ```
 
 #[cfg(feature = "serde_json")]
-use serde_json::Error as SjError;
+use serde_json::{Error as SjError, error::Category};
 
 #[cfg(feature = "serde_json")]
 use crate::AppError;
 
 /// Map a [`serde_json::Error`] into an [`AppError`].
 ///
-/// By default, all JSON errors are considered internal failures.
-/// The original error string is preserved for logs and optional JSON payloads.
+/// Errors are classified to `Serialization` or `Deserialization` using
+/// [`serde_json::Error::classify`]. The original error string is preserved for
+/// logs and optional JSON payloads.
 #[cfg(feature = "serde_json")]
 #[cfg_attr(docsrs, doc(cfg(feature = "serde_json")))]
 impl From<SjError> for AppError {
     fn from(err: SjError) -> Self {
-        // If needed, you could inspect err.classify() to separate serialization
-        // from deserialization, but here we keep it simple and stable.
-        AppError::internal(format!("Serialization error: {err}"))
+        match err.classify() {
+            Category::Io => AppError::serialization(err.to_string()),
+            Category::Syntax | Category::Data | Category::Eof => {
+                AppError::deserialization(err.to_string())
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use std::io::{self, Write};
+
+    use serde_json::json;
+
+    use super::*;
+    use crate::kind::AppErrorKind;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn io_maps_to_serialization() {
+        struct FailWriter;
+
+        impl Write for FailWriter {
+            fn write(&mut self, _buf: &[u8]) -> io::Result<usize> {
+                Err(io::Error::other("fail"))
+            }
+
+            fn flush(&mut self) -> io::Result<()> {
+                Ok(())
+            }
+        }
+
+        let err = serde_json::to_writer(FailWriter, &json!({"k": "v"})).unwrap_err();
+        let app: AppError = err.into();
+        assert!(matches!(app.kind, AppErrorKind::Serialization));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn syntax_maps_to_deserialization() {
+        let err = serde_json::from_str::<serde_json::Value>("not-json").unwrap_err();
+        let app: AppError = err.into();
+        assert!(matches!(app.kind, AppErrorKind::Deserialization));
     }
 }