diff --git a/internal/driver/chrome/translate.go b/internal/driver/chrome/translate.go
index b8e2684..f89fcb3 100644
--- a/internal/driver/chrome/translate.go
+++ b/internal/driver/chrome/translate.go
@@ -64,7 +64,15 @@ func TranslateStringSelector(selector string) (string, bool, error) {
 		return `:is([data-testid="` + escaped + `"], [id="` + escaped + `"])`, false, nil
 	case "testID", "testid", "data-testid":
 		return `[data-testid="` + cssEscape(value) + `"]`, false, nil
-	case "placeholder", "placeholderValue", "hintText":
+	case "placeholder":
+		// The attribute the markup writes. hintText and placeholderValue name
+		// the accessible-name ladder above it instead (fieldHint in driver.go),
+		// which no CSS says, so they fall through to a match that reaches
+		// nothing and the step fails by name. Building this selector for them
+		// tapped a field whose hint is its aria-label and whose placeholder
+		// happens to carry the value, which is an element neither matcher
+		// names: a selector reaches here only where the dump resolved it to no
+		// coordinates at all.
 		return `[placeholder="` + cssEscape(value) + `"]`, false, nil
 	default:
 		if !attrNamePattern.MatchString(kind) {
diff --git a/internal/driver/chrome/translate_test.go b/internal/driver/chrome/translate_test.go
index a781db2..687499a 100644
--- a/internal/driver/chrome/translate_test.go
+++ b/internal/driver/chrome/translate_test.go
@@ -44,6 +44,13 @@ func TestTranslateStringSelector_KnownKeys(t *testing.T) {
 		{"testTag:submit", `:is([data-testid="submit"], [id="submit"])`, false},
 		{"testID:submit", `[data-testid="submit"]`, false},
 		{"placeholder:Email", `[placeholder="Email"]`, false},
+		// hintText and placeholderValue name the accessible-name ladder, which
+		// no CSS says, so they reach nothing here rather than the field whose
+		// placeholder happens to carry the value and whose hint is its
+		// aria-label. Both matchers name that field by its aria-label alone, so
+		// a tap by placeholder acts on an element nobody selected.
+		{"hintText:Email", `[hintText*="Email"]`, false},
+		{"placeholderValue:Email", `[placeholderValue*="Email"]`, false},
 	}
 	for _, testCase := range cases {
 		got, isXPath, err := TranslateStringSelector(testCase.selector)