diff --git a/Textream/Textream/ExternalDisplayController.swift b/Textream/Textream/ExternalDisplayController.swift
index f239e63..be49b98 100644
--- a/Textream/Textream/ExternalDisplayController.swift
+++ b/Textream/Textream/ExternalDisplayController.swift
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ class ExternalDisplayController {
         return screens.first
     }
 
-    func show(speechRecognizer: SpeechRecognizer, words: [String], totalCharCount: Int, hasNextPage: Bool = false) {
+    func show(speechRecognizer: SpeechRecognizer, words: [String], lineBreaksAfter: Set<Int> = [], blankLineAfter: Set<Int> = [], totalCharCount: Int, hasNextPage: Bool = false) {
         let settings = NotchSettings.shared
         guard settings.externalDisplayMode != .off else { return }
         guard let screen = targetScreen() else { return }
@@ -37,6 +37,8 @@ class ExternalDisplayController {
         dismiss()
 
         overlayContent.words = words
+        overlayContent.lineBreaksAfter = lineBreaksAfter
+        overlayContent.blankLineAfter = blankLineAfter
         overlayContent.totalCharCount = totalCharCount
         overlayContent.hasNextPage = hasNextPage
 
@@ -222,6 +224,8 @@ struct ExternalDisplayView: View {
 
                 SpeechScrollView(
                     words: words,
+                    lineBreaksAfter: content.lineBreaksAfter,
+                    blankLineAfter: content.blankLineAfter,
                     highlightedCharCount: effectiveCharCount,
                     font: .systemFont(ofSize: fontSize, weight: .semibold),
                     highlightColor: NotchSettings.shared.fontColorPreset.color,
diff --git a/Textream/Textream/MarqueeTextView.swift b/Textream/Textream/MarqueeTextView.swift
index 764a1d6..6c36efc 100644
--- a/Textream/Textream/MarqueeTextView.swift
+++ b/Textream/Textream/MarqueeTextView.swift
@@ -56,6 +56,35 @@ func splitTextIntoWords(_ text: String) -> [String] {
     return result
 }
 
+/// Computes hard line breaks from the original text, keyed by word index.
+/// Returns word indices (matching the array from `splitTextIntoWords`) after
+/// which the layout should start a new line, and the subset also followed by
+/// a blank line (paragraph break). The words array itself stays unchanged so
+/// character offsets used for speech tracking are unaffected.
+func lineBreakIndices(_ text: String) -> (breaksAfter: Set<Int>, blankLineAfter: Set<Int>) {
+    var breaksAfter: Set<Int> = []
+    var blankLineAfter: Set<Int> = []
+    var wordCount = 0
+    var lastContentWordIndex: Int? = nil
+    var sawBlankLine = false
+
+    for line in text.split(separator: "\n", omittingEmptySubsequences: false) {
+        let lineWords = splitTextIntoWords(String(line))
+        if lineWords.isEmpty {
+            sawBlankLine = true
+            continue
+        }
+        if let idx = lastContentWordIndex {
+            breaksAfter.insert(idx)
+            if sawBlankLine { blankLineAfter.insert(idx) }
+        }
+        wordCount += lineWords.count
+        lastContentWordIndex = wordCount - 1
+        sawBlankLine = false
+    }
+    return (breaksAfter, blankLineAfter)
+}
+
 // MARK: - Data
 
 struct WordItem: Identifiable {
@@ -78,6 +107,10 @@ struct WordYPreferenceKey: PreferenceKey {
 
 struct SpeechScrollView: View {
     let words: [String]
+    /// Word indices after which the source text had a hard line break.
+    var lineBreaksAfter: Set<Int> = []
+    /// Subset of `lineBreaksAfter` followed by a blank line (paragraph break).
+    var blankLineAfter: Set<Int> = []
     let highlightedCharCount: Int
     var font: NSFont = .systemFont(ofSize: 18, weight: .semibold)
     var highlightColor: Color = .white
@@ -104,6 +137,8 @@ struct SpeechScrollView: View {
         GeometryReader { geo in
             WordFlowLayout(
                 words: words,
+                lineBreaksAfter: lineBreaksAfter,
+                blankLineAfter: blankLineAfter,
                 highlightedCharCount: highlightedCharCount,
                 font: font,
                 highlightColor: highlightColor,
@@ -331,6 +366,8 @@ struct SpeechScrollView: View {
 
 struct WordFlowLayout: View {
     let words: [String]
+    var lineBreaksAfter: Set<Int> = []
+    var blankLineAfter: Set<Int> = []
     let highlightedCharCount: Int
     let font: NSFont
     var highlightColor: Color = .white
@@ -358,7 +395,7 @@ struct WordFlowLayout: View {
     private static var _cachedLines: [[WordItem]] = []
 
     private func cachedLayout() -> ([WordItem], [[WordItem]]) {
-        let key = "\(words.count)|\(words.first ?? "")|\(words.last ?? "")|\(font.pointSize)|\(Int(containerWidth))"
+        let key = "\(words.count)|\(words.first ?? "")|\(words.last ?? "")|\(font.pointSize)|\(Int(containerWidth))|\(lineBreaksAfter.hashValue)|\(blankLineAfter.hashValue)"
         if key == Self._cacheKey {
             return (Self._cachedItems, Self._cachedLines)
         }
@@ -404,10 +441,16 @@ struct WordFlowLayout: View {
             }
 
             ForEach(startLine..<endLine, id: \.self) { lineIdx in
-                HStack(spacing: 0) {
-                    ForEach(lines[lineIdx], id: \.id) { item in
-                        wordView(for: item, isNextWord: item.id == nextIdx)
-                            .id(item.id)
+                if lines[lineIdx].isEmpty {
+                    // Blank line (paragraph break) — same height as a text line
+                    // so the visibility-culling math stays uniform
+                    Color.clear.frame(height: lineH - lineSpacing)
+                } else {
+                    HStack(spacing: 0) {
+                        ForEach(lines[lineIdx], id: \.id) { item in
+                            wordView(for: item, isNextWord: item.id == nextIdx)
+                                .id(item.id)
+                        }
                     }
                 }
             }
@@ -534,6 +577,16 @@ struct WordFlowLayout: View {
             }
             lines[lines.count - 1].append(item)
             currentLineWidth += wordWidth
+
+            // Hard break from the source text: start a new line, with an
+            // empty spacer line for paragraph breaks
+            if lineBreaksAfter.contains(item.id) {
+                if blankLineAfter.contains(item.id) {
+                    lines.append([])
+                }
+                lines.append([])
+                currentLineWidth = 0
+            }
         }
         return lines
     }
diff --git a/Textream/Textream/NotchOverlayController.swift b/Textream/Textream/NotchOverlayController.swift
index ca95e34..30d148c 100644
--- a/Textream/Textream/NotchOverlayController.swift
+++ b/Textream/Textream/NotchOverlayController.swift
@@ -33,6 +33,10 @@ class NotchFrameTracker {
 @Observable
 class OverlayContent {
     var words: [String] = []
+    /// Word indices after which the source text had a hard line break
+    var lineBreaksAfter: Set<Int> = []
+    /// Subset of `lineBreaksAfter` followed by a blank line (paragraph break)
+    var blankLineAfter: Set<Int> = []
     var totalCharCount: Int = 0
     var hasNextPage: Bool = false
 
@@ -72,7 +76,10 @@ class NotchOverlayController: NSObject {
 
         // Populate overlay content
         let normalized = splitTextIntoWords(text)
+        let (breaksAfter, blankAfter) = lineBreakIndices(text)
         overlayContent.words = normalized
+        overlayContent.lineBreaksAfter = breaksAfter
+        overlayContent.blankLineAfter = blankAfter
         overlayContent.totalCharCount = normalized.joined(separator: " ").count
         overlayContent.hasNextPage = hasNextPage
 
@@ -123,6 +130,7 @@ class NotchOverlayController: NSObject {
 
     func updateContent(text: String, hasNextPage: Bool) {
         let normalized = splitTextIntoWords(text)
+        let (breaksAfter, blankAfter) = lineBreakIndices(text)
 
         // Fully reset speech state for new page
         speechRecognizer.recognizedCharCount = 0
@@ -131,6 +139,8 @@ class NotchOverlayController: NSObject {
         speechRecognizer.lastSpokenText = ""
 
         overlayContent.words = normalized
+        overlayContent.lineBreaksAfter = breaksAfter
+        overlayContent.blankLineAfter = blankAfter
         overlayContent.totalCharCount = normalized.joined(separator: " ").count
         overlayContent.hasNextPage = hasNextPage
 
@@ -875,6 +885,8 @@ struct NotchOverlayView: View {
         VStack(spacing: 0) {
             SpeechScrollView(
                 words: words,
+                lineBreaksAfter: content.lineBreaksAfter,
+                blankLineAfter: content.blankLineAfter,
                 highlightedCharCount: effectiveCharCount,
                 font: NotchSettings.shared.font,
                 highlightColor: NotchSettings.shared.fontColorPreset.color,
@@ -1372,6 +1384,8 @@ struct FloatingOverlayView: View {
         VStack(spacing: 0) {
             SpeechScrollView(
                 words: words,
+                lineBreaksAfter: content.lineBreaksAfter,
+                blankLineAfter: content.blankLineAfter,
                 highlightedCharCount: effectiveCharCount,
                 font: NotchSettings.shared.font,
                 highlightColor: NotchSettings.shared.fontColorPreset.color,
diff --git a/Textream/Textream/TextreamService.swift b/Textream/Textream/TextreamService.swift
index fc46311..30d265e 100644
--- a/Textream/Textream/TextreamService.swift
+++ b/Textream/Textream/TextreamService.swift
@@ -54,10 +54,13 @@ class TextreamService: NSObject, ObservableObject {
 
         // Also show on external display if configured (same parsing as overlay)
         let words = splitTextIntoWords(trimmed)
+        let (breaksAfter, blankAfter) = lineBreakIndices(trimmed)
         let totalCharCount = words.joined(separator: " ").count
         externalDisplayController.show(
             speechRecognizer: overlayController.speechRecognizer,
             words: words,
+            lineBreaksAfter: breaksAfter,
+            blankLineAfter: blankAfter,
             totalCharCount: totalCharCount,
             hasNextPage: hasNextPage
         )
@@ -114,7 +117,10 @@ class TextreamService: NSObject, ObservableObject {
 
         // Also update external display content in-place
         let words = splitTextIntoWords(trimmed)
+        let (breaksAfter, blankAfter) = lineBreakIndices(trimmed)
         externalDisplayController.overlayContent.words = words
+        externalDisplayController.overlayContent.lineBreaksAfter = breaksAfter
+        externalDisplayController.overlayContent.blankLineAfter = blankAfter
         externalDisplayController.overlayContent.totalCharCount = words.joined(separator: " ").count
         externalDisplayController.overlayContent.hasNextPage = hasNextPage
 
@@ -378,9 +384,12 @@ class TextreamService: NSObject, ObservableObject {
         )
 
         // Also show on external display & browser if configured
+        let (breaksAfter, blankAfter) = lineBreakIndices(trimmed)
         externalDisplayController.show(
             speechRecognizer: overlayController.speechRecognizer,
             words: words,
+            lineBreaksAfter: breaksAfter,
+            blankLineAfter: blankAfter,
             totalCharCount: totalCharCount,
             hasNextPage: false
         )
@@ -408,7 +417,10 @@ class TextreamService: NSObject, ObservableObject {
         let totalCharCount = words.joined(separator: " ").count
 
         // Update overlay content without resetting speech progress
+        let (breaksAfter, blankAfter) = lineBreakIndices(trimmed)
         overlayController.overlayContent.words = words
+        overlayController.overlayContent.lineBreaksAfter = breaksAfter
+        overlayController.overlayContent.blankLineAfter = blankAfter
         overlayController.overlayContent.totalCharCount = totalCharCount
         overlayController.overlayContent.hasNextPage = false