diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/empty-composer.test.ts b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/empty-composer.test.ts
index 887f14c9750d3..dcf3398e6bcb5 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/empty-composer.test.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/empty-composer.test.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
 
 import {
+  beginComposerComposition,
   composerPlainText,
   deleteChipBeforeCaret,
   normalizeComposerEditorDom,
@@ -159,6 +160,26 @@ describe('an emptied composer shows its placeholder again', () => {
 
     expect(el.matches(PLACEHOLDER_SHOWS)).toBe(false)
   })
+
+  // Input events are skipped for the duration of an IME composition, so nothing
+  // else clears the marker until it ends — the hint would sit behind the
+  // hiragana the user is composing (#75960).
+  it('hides the placeholder before IME preedit text starts', () => {
+    const el = emptied()
+
+    beginComposerComposition(el)
+
+    expect(el.matches(PLACEHOLDER_SHOWS)).toBe(false)
+  })
+
+  it('brings the placeholder back when composition ends with nothing committed', () => {
+    const el = emptied()
+
+    beginComposerComposition(el)
+    normalizeComposerEditorDom(el)
+
+    expect(el.matches(PLACEHOLDER_SHOWS)).toBe(true)
+  })
 })
 
 /** A directive chip, as `refChipElement` builds it. */
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/index.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/index.tsx
index d06f82f8d6936..fb6d86515b153 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/index.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/index.tsx
@@ -57,6 +57,7 @@ import { ActionBadges } from './micro-actions'
 import { chipTypedPathOnSpace, pathifyRefs } from './path-refs'
 import { QueuePanel } from './queue-panel'
 import {
+  beginComposerComposition,
   composerPlainText,
   deleteChipBeforeCaret,
   deleteSelectionInEditor,
@@ -967,8 +968,13 @@ export function ChatBar({
           // until an unrelated edit forces a sync (#39614).
           flushEditorToDraft(event.currentTarget)
         }}
-        onCompositionStart={() => {
+        onCompositionStart={event => {
           composingRef.current = true
+
+          // Input events are skipped for the rest of the composition, so
+          // nothing else would clear the empty marker until it ends — and the
+          // hint would sit behind the preedit text the whole time (#75960).
+          beginComposerComposition(event.currentTarget)
         }}
         onDragOver={handleInputDragOver}
         onDrop={handleInputDrop}
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/rich-editor.ts b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/rich-editor.ts
index 8b5ca6cdb02c6..a7d8e0406759b 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/rich-editor.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/chat/composer/rich-editor.ts
@@ -71,6 +71,17 @@ export function markEditorEmptiness(editor: HTMLElement) {
   }
 }
 
+/** Drop the marker as IME composition starts, before any preedit text lands.
+ *
+ *  Input events during composition are deliberately skipped (they carry
+ *  uncommitted preedit text), so nothing else clears the marker until
+ *  `compositionend` — and the hint would otherwise sit behind the hiragana the
+ *  user is composing. `normalizeComposerEditorDom` restores it if composition
+ *  ends with nothing committed. */
+export function beginComposerComposition(editor: HTMLElement) {
+  delete editor.dataset.empty
+}
+
 /** @see referenceRe — the shared pattern every surface recognises a reference
  *  with. Module-level `/g` regexes carry `lastIndex`, so call sites reset it. */
 export const REF_RE = referenceRe()