diff --git a/klausur-service/backend/cv_color_detect.py b/klausur-service/backend/cv_color_detect.py
index 423d61d..998d604 100644
--- a/klausur-service/backend/cv_color_detect.py
+++ b/klausur-service/backend/cv_color_detect.py
@@ -182,7 +182,7 @@ def detect_word_colors(
             # Red requires higher saturation — scanner artifacts on black
             # text often produce a slight warm tint (hue ~0) with low
             # saturation that would otherwise be misclassified as red.
-            if name == "red" and median_sat < 80:
+            if name == "red" and median_sat < 90:
                 wb["color"] = _COLOR_HEX["black"]
                 wb["color_name"] = "black"
                 continue
diff --git a/klausur-service/backend/grid_editor_api.py b/klausur-service/backend/grid_editor_api.py
index 7db58d9..20c048a 100644
--- a/klausur-service/backend/grid_editor_api.py
+++ b/klausur-service/backend/grid_editor_api.py
@@ -2275,6 +2275,22 @@ async def _build_grid_core(session_id: str, session: dict) -> dict:
                 if overlap_pct > 0.40:
                     c1 = w1.get("conf", 50)
                     c2 = w2.get("conf", 50)
+                    t1 = (w1.get("text") or "").strip().lower()
+                    t2 = (w2.get("text") or "").strip().lower()
+
+                    # For very high overlap (>90%) with different text,
+                    # prefer the word that exists in the IPA dictionary
+                    # over confidence (OCR can give artifacts high conf).
+                    if overlap_pct > 0.90 and t1 != t2:
+                        in_dict_1 = bool(_lookup_ipa(re.sub(r'[²³¹\d/]', '', t1), "british")) if t1.isalpha() else False
+                        in_dict_2 = bool(_lookup_ipa(re.sub(r'[²³¹\d/]', '', t2), "british")) if t2.isalpha() else False
+                        if in_dict_1 and not in_dict_2:
+                            to_remove.add(i2)
+                            continue
+                        elif in_dict_2 and not in_dict_1:
+                            to_remove.add(i1)
+                            continue
+
                     if c1 < c2:
                         to_remove.add(i1)
                     elif c2 < c1:
diff --git a/klausur-service/backend/tests/test_grid_editor_api.py b/klausur-service/backend/tests/test_grid_editor_api.py
index ccb077f..ff03ab5 100644
--- a/klausur-service/backend/tests/test_grid_editor_api.py
+++ b/klausur-service/backend/tests/test_grid_editor_api.py
@@ -924,13 +924,13 @@ class TestRedFalsePositiveSuppression:
     """Red requires median_sat >= 80 to avoid scanner artifact false positives."""
 
     def test_low_saturation_red_classified_as_black(self):
-        """Black text with slight warm scanner tint (sat ~60) → black, not red."""
+        """Black text with slight warm scanner tint (sat ~85) → black, not red."""
         import numpy as np
         from cv_color_detect import detect_word_colors
 
         # Create a 40x20 image with dark gray pixels (slight warm tint)
-        # HSV: hue=5 (red range), sat=60 (above 55 threshold but below 80), val=40
-        img_hsv = np.full((40, 200, 3), [5, 60, 40], dtype=np.uint8)
+        # HSV: hue=5 (red range), sat=85 (above 55 threshold but below 90), val=40
+        img_hsv = np.full((40, 200, 3), [5, 85, 40], dtype=np.uint8)
         img_bgr = cv2.cvtColor(img_hsv, cv2.COLOR_HSV2BGR)
 
         wb = [{"left": 10, "top": 5, "width": 50, "height": 20, "text": "test"}]