diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/shared/discussion/MentionDropdown.svelte b/frontend/src/lib/shared/discussion/MentionDropdown.svelte
index b0d1202a..c647f434 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/shared/discussion/MentionDropdown.svelte
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/shared/discussion/MentionDropdown.svelte
@@ -43,6 +43,11 @@ let {
 let searchQuery = $state(untrack(() => editorQuery.slice(0, MAX_QUERY_LENGTH)));
 let userHasEdited = $state(false);
 
+// Intent-revealing alias used by both the persistent aria-live announcer and
+// the visible empty-state copy. Folding the duplicated rule into one $derived
+// keeps the two branches in lockstep. Felix #3 on PR #629 round 4.
+const isQueryEmpty = $derived(searchQuery.trim() === '');
+
 // Mirror the editor's typed text until the user takes ownership.
 //
 // Why `$state + $effect` (not `$derived`): `searchQuery` is also written by
@@ -203,9 +208,7 @@ function selectItem(item: Person) {
 	-->
 	<p class="sr-only" aria-live="polite">
 		{#if model.items.length === 0}
-			{searchQuery.trim() === ''
-				? m.person_mention_search_prompt()
-				: m.person_mention_popup_empty()}
+			{isQueryEmpty ? m.person_mention_search_prompt() : m.person_mention_popup_empty()}
 		{:else if model.items.length === 1}
 			{m.person_mention_results_count_singular()}
 		{:else}
@@ -215,12 +218,14 @@ function selectItem(item: Person) {
 	{#if model.items.length === 0}
 		<!--
 			Visible empty-state copy — visual-only. The persistent sr-only <p>
-			above is the announcer. Leonie #3 on PR #629 round 3.
+			above is the sole AT announcer; this one is hidden from screen readers
+			via aria-hidden="true" so VoiceOver does not double-announce
+			(NVDA de-dups, VoiceOver does not). Leonie S-2 on PR #629 round 4.
+			Do NOT add an aria-live attribute here — that would re-introduce
+			the duplicate announcement.
 		-->
-		<p class="px-3 py-2.5 font-sans text-sm text-ink-3">
-			{searchQuery.trim() === ''
-				? m.person_mention_search_prompt()
-				: m.person_mention_popup_empty()}
+		<p aria-hidden="true" class="px-3 py-2.5 font-sans text-sm text-ink-3">
+			{isQueryEmpty ? m.person_mention_search_prompt() : m.person_mention_popup_empty()}
 		</p>
 		<!--
 			Empty-state escape hatch — without it the transcriber has to close
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/shared/discussion/MentionDropdown.svelte.test.ts b/frontend/src/lib/shared/discussion/MentionDropdown.svelte.test.ts
index 47554642..fcab66b6 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/shared/discussion/MentionDropdown.svelte.test.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/shared/discussion/MentionDropdown.svelte.test.ts
@@ -198,7 +198,25 @@ describe('MentionDropdown — search input', () => {
 		expect(live!.textContent ?? '').toContain('3');
 	});
 
-	it('keeps the visible empty-state copy without its own aria-live (the persistent live region announces; Leonie #3 on PR #629)', async () => {
+	it('announces the singular form when exactly one item is present (Sara #4 on PR #629)', async () => {
+		render(MentionDropdown, {
+			props: {
+				model: baseModel({
+					items: [makePerson('p1', 'Anna Schmidt')]
+				})
+			}
+		});
+
+		const listbox = document.querySelector('[role="listbox"]');
+		expect(listbox).not.toBeNull();
+		const live = listbox!.querySelector('p[aria-live="polite"]');
+		expect(live).not.toBeNull();
+		// Singular branch — "1 Person gefunden" / "1 person found" / "1 persona encontrada"
+		// (locale-dependent; resolved via the Paraglide message helper).
+		expect(live!.textContent ?? '').toContain(m.person_mention_results_count_singular());
+	});
+
+	it('keeps the visible empty-state copy without its own aria-live and hides it from AT (Leonie #3 on PR #629 round 3; Leonie S-2 round 4)', async () => {
 		render(MentionDropdown, { props: { model: baseModel(), editorQuery: 'WdG' } });
 
 		// Visible empty-state <p> exists with the empty-result copy ...
@@ -208,6 +226,10 @@ describe('MentionDropdown — search input', () => {
 		// ... but it must NOT carry its own aria-live (the persistent sr-only
 		// region above the conditional is the announcer now).
 		expect(empty!.hasAttribute('aria-live')).toBe(false);
+		// ... and it MUST be hidden from screen readers via aria-hidden="true"
+		// so VoiceOver does not double-announce (the persistent sr-only region
+		// is the sole AT source of truth). Leonie S-2 on PR #629 round 4.
+		expect(empty!.getAttribute('aria-hidden')).toBe('true');
 	});
 
 	it('renders the magnifier icon at h-5 w-5 with text-ink-2 (Leonie BLOCKER on PR #629)', async () => {