diff --git a/frontend/src/api/snippets.ts b/frontend/src/api/snippets.ts
index 0fae70b..25bd2d8 100644
--- a/frontend/src/api/snippets.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/api/snippets.ts
@@ -88,6 +88,11 @@ export interface SnippetListItem {
    *  them, not one of your own. Absent means it's yours. */
   shared?: boolean;
   owner?: string | null;
+  /** The recorded language, when one was given. Projected from the `data`
+   *  mirror so lists can show it without parsing the body — and so a prior-art
+   *  hit can be flagged as being in a DIFFERENT language than the file being
+   *  written, which is a shape to adapt rather than code to paste. */
+  language?: string;
   /** Always present from the backend, zero-filled for records with no events. */
   usage?: SnippetUsage;
   /** Present on the detail record; the list feed carries it when a check has
diff --git a/src/scribe/services/knowledge.py b/src/scribe/services/knowledge.py
index 6fdfa43..f62cbba 100644
--- a/src/scribe/services/knowledge.py
+++ b/src/scribe/services/knowledge.py
@@ -211,6 +211,15 @@ def _note_to_item(note: Note) -> dict:
     # body parsing and stays a plain projection of the column. Omitted entirely
     # when unchecked, so "no key" and "never verified" don't become two states
     # the client has to tell apart.
+    # Snippet language, same reasoning as the verdict below: a plain projection of
+    # the `data` mirror, no body parsing. Needed because a prior-art hit in a
+    # DIFFERENT language than the file being written is useful as the shape of a
+    # solution but must not be mistaken for code to paste (#2244) — and the caller
+    # can only say "different" if the language is on the item.
+    language = (note.data or {}).get("language") if note.data else None
+    if language:
+        item["language"] = language
+
     verdict = (note.data or {}).get("verification") if note.data else None
     if verdict and verdict.get("status"):
         item["verification"] = {
diff --git a/src/scribe/services/plugin_context.py b/src/scribe/services/plugin_context.py
index 708a278..93eda36 100644
--- a/src/scribe/services/plugin_context.py
+++ b/src/scribe/services/plugin_context.py
@@ -391,15 +391,98 @@ async def build_autoinject_hint(
 # this exact file" is a stronger claim than "this resembles something".
 
 
-def _prior_art_line(item: dict, marker: str, owner: str | None) -> str:
-    """One menu line: `- #12 [here] "title"`, attributed when it isn't yours."""
+def _prior_art_line(item: dict, marker: str, owner: str | None, foreign_lang: str = "") -> str:
+    """One menu line: `- #12 [here] "title"`, attributed when it isn't yours.
+
+    A foreign language is folded into the marker (`[similar 0.72 · python]`)
+    rather than appended after the title, so the reader sees it while still
+    reading the score — the two together are the judgement being offered.
+    """
     title = (item.get("title") or "(untitled)").replace("\n", " ").strip()
-    line = f"> - #{item['id']} [{marker}] \"{title}\""
+    mark = f"{marker} · {foreign_lang}" if foreign_lang else marker
+    line = f"> - #{item['id']} [{mark}] \"{title}\""
     if owner:
         line += f" — shared by {owner}, treat as a suggestion"
     return line
 
 
+# --- cross-language prior art (#2244) ----------------------------------------
+# Retrieval is concept-shaped now, and concepts are language-agnostic: a query
+# about a TypeScript union-find matches a PYTHON snippet at 0.72-0.73, comfortably
+# over the bar. That is a feature — the operator's framing is "borrow the shape of
+# the solution even when the code isn't directly reusable" — but only if the line
+# SAYS so. An unlabelled Python hit offered while writing TypeScript either gets
+# dismissed as irrelevant or, worse, pasted into a .ts file. Measured note: this
+# cross-language matching predates concept queries; it was always happening, just
+# never disclosed.
+#
+# Deliberately NOT gated behind a stricter threshold for foreign-language hits: a
+# higher bar would suppress exactly the shape-borrowing this is for. Label, don't
+# filter.
+_LANG_BY_EXT = {
+    "py": "python", "pyi": "python",
+    "ts": "typescript", "tsx": "typescript", "mts": "typescript", "cts": "typescript",
+    "js": "javascript", "jsx": "javascript", "mjs": "javascript", "cjs": "javascript",
+    "vue": "vue", "svelte": "svelte",
+    "go": "go", "rs": "rust", "rb": "ruby", "php": "php",
+    "java": "java", "kt": "kotlin", "kts": "kotlin", "scala": "scala",
+    "c": "c", "h": "c", "cc": "cpp", "cpp": "cpp", "cxx": "cpp", "hpp": "cpp",
+    "cs": "csharp", "swift": "swift", "m": "objectivec", "mm": "objectivec",
+    "sh": "shell", "bash": "shell", "zsh": "shell", "fish": "shell",
+    "sql": "sql", "css": "css", "scss": "scss", "less": "less",
+    "html": "html", "htm": "html", "yml": "yaml", "yaml": "yaml",
+    "toml": "toml", "ini": "ini", "dockerfile": "dockerfile",
+    "ex": "elixir", "exs": "elixir", "erl": "erlang", "hs": "haskell",
+    "lua": "lua", "pl": "perl", "r": "r", "dart": "dart", "zig": "zig",
+}
+
+# `language` on a snippet is operator-typed free text, so fold the spellings that
+# mean the same thing before comparing. Anything unrecognised passes through
+# lowercased — an unknown-but-equal pair still compares equal, which is the only
+# thing this needs to get right.
+_LANG_ALIASES = {
+    "py": "python", "python3": "python",
+    "ts": "typescript", "tsx": "typescript",
+    "js": "javascript", "jsx": "javascript", "node": "javascript",
+    "sh": "shell", "bash": "shell", "zsh": "shell", "shell-script": "shell",
+    "c++": "cpp", "cplusplus": "cpp", "c#": "csharp", "objective-c": "objectivec",
+    "golang": "go", "rs": "rust", "rb": "ruby", "yml": "yaml",
+    "postgres": "sql", "postgresql": "sql", "psql": "sql",
+    "vuejs": "vue", "vue3": "vue",
+}
+
+
+def _canonical_language(name: str) -> str:
+    """Fold a free-text language name to a comparable token ("" if absent)."""
+    token = (name or "").strip().lower()
+    return _LANG_ALIASES.get(token, token)
+
+
+def _language_for_path(path: str) -> str:
+    """The language implied by a file path's extension ("" when unknown)."""
+    tail = (path or "").rsplit("/", 1)[-1].lower()
+    if tail.startswith("dockerfile"):
+        return "dockerfile"
+    if "." not in tail:
+        return ""
+    return _LANG_BY_EXT.get(tail.rsplit(".", 1)[-1], "")
+
+
+def _foreign_language(item: dict, target: str) -> str:
+    """The item's language when it DIFFERS from the target file's, else "".
+
+    Returns "" whenever either side is unknown: we can only claim a mismatch we
+    can actually establish, and a wrong "· python" tag is worse than no tag.
+    Same-language hits stay unlabelled so the common case keeps a clean line.
+    """
+    if not target:
+        return ""
+    theirs = _canonical_language(item.get("language") or "")
+    if not theirs or theirs == target:
+        return ""
+    return theirs
+
+
 def _concept_doc(code: str) -> str:
     """The first doc-ish prose in `code`: docstring, else JSDoc, else leading comments."""
     m = _CONCEPT_PY_DOC.search(code)
@@ -619,7 +702,14 @@ async def build_write_path_hint(
                     continue
                 scored.append((
                     f"similar {score:.2f}",
-                    {"id": int(note.id), "title": note.title, "user_id": note.user_id},
+                    {
+                        "id": int(note.id), "title": note.title, "user_id": note.user_id,
+                        # Carried so the line can disclose a cross-language hit
+                        # (#2244). The semantic arm is where these actually arise —
+                        # a snippet recorded at the path you're editing is almost
+                        # never in another language, but a concept match easily is.
+                        "language": (note.data or {}).get("language") if note.data else None,
+                    },
                 ))
 
     menu = (placed + scored)[:top_k]
@@ -631,19 +721,36 @@ async def build_write_path_hint(
         if it.get("user_id") is not None and int(it["user_id"]) != user_id
     })
 
+    target_lang = _language_for_path(path)
+    rendered: list[tuple[dict, str, str | None, str]] = []
+    for marker, item in menu:
+        owner_id = item.get("user_id")
+        owner = None
+        if owner_id is not None and int(owner_id) != user_id:
+            owner = owners.get(int(owner_id)) or "another user"
+        rendered.append((item, marker, owner, _foreign_language(item, target_lang)))
+
     lines = [
         f"> Prior art already recorded in Scribe for `{path}` — open one with "
         "`get_snippet(id)` and reuse it rather than writing a fresh one-off "
         "(titles only; shown once per session):",
     ]
+    # Say what a language tag MEANS, and only when one is actually on the menu.
+    # Without this the reader has to infer why "· python" is attached to a hit on
+    # a .ts file, and the two ways of guessing wrong are both bad: dismiss it as
+    # irrelevant, or paste Python into TypeScript. Retrieval matches on concept,
+    # so these are genuinely useful — as the SHAPE of a solution, not as code.
+    if any(lang for _i, _m, _o, lang in rendered):
+        lines.append(
+            "> A tagged language means that snippet is in a DIFFERENT language "
+            "than this file — it matched on what it does, so treat it as the "
+            "shape of a solution to adapt, not code to copy."
+        )
+
     note_ids: list[int] = []
-    for marker, item in menu:
+    for item, marker, owner, foreign_lang in rendered:
         note_ids.append(int(item["id"]))
-        owner_id = item.get("user_id")
-        owner = None
-        if owner_id is not None and int(owner_id) != user_id:
-            owner = owners.get(int(owner_id)) or "another user"
-        lines.append(_prior_art_line(item, marker, owner))
+        lines.append(_prior_art_line(item, marker, owner, foreign_lang))
 
     # Split by arm, which is the whole reason this table exists. The place arm
     # carries no score and so has no home in retrieval_logs; before #2085 a
diff --git a/tests/test_note_usage.py b/tests/test_note_usage.py
index b70292c..59d5a3f 100644
--- a/tests/test_note_usage.py
+++ b/tests/test_note_usage.py
@@ -22,6 +22,9 @@ def _note(nid, title, user_id=1):
     n = MagicMock()
     n.id, n.title, n.user_id = nid, title, user_id
     n.note_type = "snippet"
+    # See the same note in test_write_path_trigger: an auto-created mock on
+    # `.data` is truthy and would leak into a rendered menu line (#2244).
+    n.data = None
     return n
 
 
diff --git a/tests/test_write_path_trigger.py b/tests/test_write_path_trigger.py
index 2cfd2d7..2426315 100644
--- a/tests/test_write_path_trigger.py
+++ b/tests/test_write_path_trigger.py
@@ -26,6 +26,10 @@ def _snippet_item(nid, title, user_id=1):
 def _note(nid, title, user_id=1):
     n = MagicMock()
     n.id, n.title, n.user_id = nid, title, user_id
+    # Explicitly None, not left to MagicMock's auto-attribute: the semantic arm
+    # reads `note.data` for the snippet's language (#2244), and an auto-created
+    # mock there is truthy, so it would render its repr into the menu line.
+    n.data = None
     return n
 
 
@@ -585,6 +589,94 @@ async def test_the_floor_judges_the_raw_payload_not_the_concept():
     search2.assert_not_called()
 
 
+# --- cross-language prior art is disclosed, not filtered (#2244) --------------
+
+def test_language_for_path_and_canonicalisation():
+    from scribe.services import plugin_context as pc
+    assert pc._language_for_path("src/a/b.ts") == "typescript"
+    assert pc._language_for_path("src/a/b.py") == "python"
+    assert pc._language_for_path("ops/Dockerfile") == "dockerfile"
+    assert pc._language_for_path("README") == ""
+    assert pc._language_for_path("weird/thing.qqq") == ""
+    # Operator-typed spellings that mean the same thing must compare equal.
+    assert pc._canonical_language("Python3") == pc._canonical_language("py")
+    assert pc._canonical_language("TSX") == pc._canonical_language("typescript")
+    assert pc._canonical_language("C++") == "cpp"
+    # Unknown-but-equal still compares equal, which is all this must get right.
+    assert pc._canonical_language("Brainfuck") == pc._canonical_language("brainfuck")
+
+
+def test_foreign_language_only_claims_a_mismatch_it_can_establish():
+    from scribe.services import plugin_context as pc
+    assert pc._foreign_language({"language": "python"}, "typescript") == "python"
+    assert pc._foreign_language({"language": "py"}, "python") == ""       # same, aliased
+    assert pc._foreign_language({"language": ""}, "typescript") == ""     # theirs unknown
+    assert pc._foreign_language({"language": "python"}, "") == ""         # target unknown
+    assert pc._foreign_language({}, "typescript") == ""                   # no field at all
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_a_cross_language_hit_is_labelled_and_explained():
+    """The fail state this closes: an unlabelled Python hit offered while writing
+    TypeScript is either dismissed as irrelevant or pasted into the .ts file."""
+    from scribe.services import plugin_context as pc
+    note = _note(7, "group_pairs — collapse related pairs into groups")
+    note.data = {"language": "python"}
+    with patch.object(pc, "get_writepath_config", AsyncMock(return_value=_cfg())), \
+         patch.object(pc.snippets_svc, "list_snippets", AsyncMock(return_value=([], 0))), \
+         patch.object(pc, "semantic_search_notes", AsyncMock(return_value=[(0.72, note)])), \
+         patch.object(pc, "record_retrieval", MagicMock()), \
+         patch.object(pc, "owner_names_for", AsyncMock(return_value={})):
+        out = await pc.build_write_path_hint(1, "frontend/src/lib/cluster.ts", code=REAL_CODE)
+    assert "[similar 0.72 · python]" in out["context"]
+    assert "shape of a solution to adapt, not code to copy" in out["context"]
+    # Disclosed, NOT filtered — a stricter bar for foreign hits would suppress
+    # exactly the shape-borrowing this exists for.
+    assert out["note_ids"] == [7]
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_a_same_language_hit_is_not_labelled_and_gets_no_preamble():
+    """The common case keeps a clean line; the explanation only appears when
+    there is something on the menu it explains."""
+    from scribe.services import plugin_context as pc
+    note = _note(7, "debounce — rate-limit a callback")
+    note.data = {"language": "python"}
+    with patch.object(pc, "get_writepath_config", AsyncMock(return_value=_cfg())), \
+         patch.object(pc.snippets_svc, "list_snippets", AsyncMock(return_value=([], 0))), \
+         patch.object(pc, "semantic_search_notes", AsyncMock(return_value=[(0.72, note)])), \
+         patch.object(pc, "record_retrieval", MagicMock()), \
+         patch.object(pc, "owner_names_for", AsyncMock(return_value={})):
+        out = await pc.build_write_path_hint(1, "src/scribe/services/x.py", code=REAL_CODE)
+    assert "[similar 0.72]" in out["context"]
+    assert "·" not in out["context"]
+    assert "shape of a solution" not in out["context"]
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_an_unknown_target_extension_never_invents_a_mismatch():
+    """A wrong "· python" tag is worse than no tag at all."""
+    from scribe.services import plugin_context as pc
+    note = _note(7, "helper — does a thing")
+    note.data = {"language": "python"}
+    with patch.object(pc, "get_writepath_config", AsyncMock(return_value=_cfg())), \
+         patch.object(pc.snippets_svc, "list_snippets", AsyncMock(return_value=([], 0))), \
+         patch.object(pc, "semantic_search_notes", AsyncMock(return_value=[(0.72, note)])), \
+         patch.object(pc, "record_retrieval", MagicMock()), \
+         patch.object(pc, "owner_names_for", AsyncMock(return_value={})):
+        out = await pc.build_write_path_hint(1, "scripts/thing.qqq", code=REAL_CODE)
+    assert "· python" not in out["context"]
+
+
+def test_prior_art_line_keeps_language_and_attribution_together():
+    from scribe.services.plugin_context import _prior_art_line
+    item = {"id": 12, "title": "group_pairs — collapse pairs"}
+    assert _prior_art_line(item, "similar 0.72", None, "python") == \
+        '> - #12 [similar 0.72 · python] "group_pairs — collapse pairs"'
+    both = _prior_art_line(item, "similar 0.72", "alex", "python")
+    assert "· python" in both and "shared by alex" in both
+
+
 # --- the route between them --------------------------------------------------
 
 def test_route_reads_every_arg_the_hook_sends():