diff --git a/src/components/ai-edition/v4/EditorTopBar.tsx b/src/components/ai-edition/v4/EditorTopBar.tsx
index ed391cb55..6968b3661 100644
--- a/src/components/ai-edition/v4/EditorTopBar.tsx
+++ b/src/components/ai-edition/v4/EditorTopBar.tsx
@@ -16,13 +16,14 @@ import {
 	Sun,
 	Undo2,
 } from "lucide-react";
-import { type KeyboardEvent as ReactKeyboardEvent, useEffect, useRef, useState } from "react";
+import { useEffect, useRef, useState } from "react";
 import logoMark from "@/assets/openscreen-mark.png";
 import { Tooltip } from "@/components/ui/tooltip";
 import { useI18n, useScopedT } from "@/contexts/I18nContext";
 import { useShortcuts } from "@/contexts/ShortcutsContext";
 import { useTheme } from "@/hooks/useTheme";
 import { getAvailableLocales, getLocaleName } from "@/i18n/loader";
+import { moveMenuFocus } from "@/lib/menuKeyboard";
 import { formatFirstFixedBinding } from "@/lib/shortcuts";
 import { StylePresetsMenu } from "../StylePresetsMenu";
 import styles from "./EditorShellV4.module.css";
@@ -361,21 +362,6 @@ function AppMenu({ actions }: { actions: TopBarActions }) {
 		menuRef.current?.querySelector<HTMLButtonElement>('[role="menuitem"]')?.focus();
 	}, [open]);
 
-	const onMenuKeyDown = (e: ReactKeyboardEvent<HTMLDivElement>) => {
-		if (e.key !== "ArrowDown" && e.key !== "ArrowUp") return;
-		e.preventDefault();
-		const items = Array.from(
-			menuRef.current?.querySelectorAll<HTMLButtonElement>(
-				'[role="menuitem"], [role="menuitemradio"]',
-			) ?? [],
-		);
-		if (items.length === 0) return;
-		const at = items.indexOf(document.activeElement as HTMLButtonElement);
-		const next = e.key === "ArrowDown" ? at + 1 : at - 1;
-		// Wraps both ways; `at` is -1 when focus escaped the list, and ArrowDown then lands on 0.
-		items[(next + items.length) % items.length]?.focus();
-	};
-
 	const run = (action: () => void) => () => {
 		// Unlike Escape, a click does not hand focus back to the trigger: the pointer user did not
 		// come from there, and a focus ring appearing under the cursor reads as a bug.
@@ -401,7 +387,7 @@ function AppMenu({ actions }: { actions: TopBarActions }) {
 				<ChevronDown size={13} className={styles.brandChevron} aria-hidden />
 			</button>
 			{open ? (
-				<div ref={menuRef} className={styles.appMenu} role="menu" onKeyDown={onMenuKeyDown}>
+				<div ref={menuRef} className={styles.appMenu} role="menu" onKeyDown={moveMenuFocus}>
 					{/* The file actions that used to be three icons in the bar. Their labels are the
 					    keys those icons carried as tooltips; Ctrl+N / Ctrl+O / Ctrl+S still reach them
 					    through the native menu's accelerators. */}
diff --git a/src/components/launch/HudControls.tsx b/src/components/launch/HudControls.tsx
index 6000d5ab7..2c5fa7df1 100644
--- a/src/components/launch/HudControls.tsx
+++ b/src/components/launch/HudControls.tsx
@@ -1,5 +1,14 @@
 import { Check, Languages, NotepadText, Settings } from "lucide-react";
-import { createContext, memo, type ReactElement, useContext, useRef, useState } from "react";
+import {
+	createContext,
+	memo,
+	type ReactElement,
+	useContext,
+	useEffect,
+	useRef,
+	useState,
+} from "react";
+import { moveMenuFocus } from "@/lib/menuKeyboard";
 import { formatTimePadded } from "../../utils/timeUtils";
 import { Button } from "../ui/button";
 import { TOOLTIP_GAP_PX, Tooltip } from "../ui/tooltip";
@@ -663,12 +672,19 @@ export const HudLanguageMenu = memo(function HudLanguageMenu({
 	panelRef: (el: HTMLDivElement | null) => void;
 	onEnsureInteractive: () => void;
 }) {
+	// Into the list as it opens, on the language in use, so the arrows work straight away.
+	const activeItemRef = useRef<HTMLButtonElement>(null);
+	useEffect(() => {
+		activeItemRef.current?.focus();
+	}, []);
+
 	return (
 		<div
 			ref={panelRef}
 			data-hud-interactive="true"
 			data-testid="hud-language-menu"
 			role="menu"
+			onKeyDown={moveMenuFocus}
 			className={`${styles.hudPopover} ${styles.hudPopoverScroll} ${styles.hudScrollbar} animate-mic-panel-in ${styles.electronNoDrag}`}
 			onPointerDown={(event) => event.stopPropagation()}
 			onPointerEnter={onEnsureInteractive}
@@ -680,6 +696,7 @@ export const HudLanguageMenu = memo(function HudLanguageMenu({
 			{locales.map((loc) => (
 				<button
 					key={loc}
+					ref={loc === activeLocale ? activeItemRef : undefined}
 					type="button"
 					role="menuitemradio"
 					aria-checked={loc === activeLocale}
diff --git a/src/components/launch/LaunchWindow.test.tsx b/src/components/launch/LaunchWindow.test.tsx
index 9036bf774..9ecb4c7b0 100644
--- a/src/components/launch/LaunchWindow.test.tsx
+++ b/src/components/launch/LaunchWindow.test.tsx
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 // @vitest-environment jsdom
 import "@testing-library/jest-dom";
 import { act, cleanup, fireEvent, render, screen, waitFor, within } from "@testing-library/react";
+import userEvent from "@testing-library/user-event";
 import { StrictMode } from "react";
 import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
 import { nativeBridgeClient } from "@/native";
@@ -157,8 +158,10 @@ const i18nState = vi.hoisted(() => ({
 }));
 
 vi.mock("@/i18n/loader", () => ({
-	getAvailableLocales: () => ["en"],
-	getLocaleName: () => "English",
+	// The active "en" sits between two others, so the arrows have somewhere to go both ways.
+	getAvailableLocales: () => ["de", "en", "fr"],
+	getLocaleName: (locale: string) =>
+		({ de: "Deutsch", fr: "Français" })[locale as "de" | "fr"] ?? "English",
 }));
 
 vi.mock("@/contexts/I18nContext", () => ({
@@ -1533,6 +1536,44 @@ describe("LaunchWindow popover dismissal", () => {
 		expect(i18nState.value.setLocale).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
 	});
 
+	it("focuses the language in use as the menu opens", async () => {
+		renderLaunchWindow();
+		const menu = await openLanguageMenu();
+
+		expect(within(menu).getByRole("menuitemradio", { name: "English" })).toHaveFocus();
+		expect(within(menu).getByRole("menuitemradio", { name: "English" })).toHaveAttribute(
+			"aria-checked",
+			"true",
+		);
+	});
+
+	it("moves between languages with the arrow keys, wrapping at both ends", async () => {
+		renderLaunchWindow();
+		const menu = await openLanguageMenu();
+		const item = (name: string) => within(menu).getByRole("menuitemradio", { name });
+
+		fireEvent.keyDown(document.activeElement as HTMLElement, { key: "ArrowDown" });
+		expect(item("Français")).toHaveFocus();
+		fireEvent.keyDown(document.activeElement as HTMLElement, { key: "ArrowDown" });
+		expect(item("Deutsch")).toHaveFocus();
+		fireEvent.keyDown(document.activeElement as HTMLElement, { key: "ArrowUp" });
+		expect(item("Français")).toHaveFocus();
+		expect(i18nState.value.setLocale).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+	});
+
+	it("picks the focused language on Enter", async () => {
+		const user = userEvent.setup();
+		renderLaunchWindow();
+		await openLanguageMenu();
+
+		await user.keyboard("{ArrowDown}{Enter}");
+
+		expect(i18nState.value.setLocale).toHaveBeenCalledWith("fr");
+		await waitFor(() => {
+			expect(screen.queryByTestId("hud-language-menu")).not.toBeInTheDocument();
+		});
+	});
+
 	it("closes the device-settings panel on Escape", async () => {
 		renderLaunchWindow();
 		await openDeviceSettings();
diff --git a/src/lib/menuKeyboard.ts b/src/lib/menuKeyboard.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a2abefb8f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/menuKeyboard.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+import type { KeyboardEvent } from "react";
+
+/**
+ * ArrowUp/ArrowDown between the items of the menu the handler sits on, wrapping both ways.
+ * Enter and Space need nothing: the items are buttons. Escape stays with each menu, which
+ * knows where focus goes back to.
+ */
+export function moveMenuFocus(e: KeyboardEvent<HTMLElement>) {
+	if (e.key !== "ArrowDown" && e.key !== "ArrowUp") return;
+	e.preventDefault();
+	const items = Array.from(
+		e.currentTarget.querySelectorAll<HTMLElement>('[role="menuitem"], [role="menuitemradio"]'),
+	);
+	if (items.length === 0) return;
+	const at = items.indexOf(document.activeElement as HTMLElement);
+	const next = e.key === "ArrowDown" ? at + 1 : at - 1;
+	// `at` is -1 when focus escaped the list, and ArrowDown then lands on 0.
+	items[(next + items.length) % items.length]?.focus();
+}