diff --git a/skills/cognitive-memory/client.py b/skills/cognitive-memory/client.py
index b563cf9..84838b0 100644
--- a/skills/cognitive-memory/client.py
+++ b/skills/cognitive-memory/client.py
@@ -942,31 +942,35 @@ class CognitiveMemoryClient:
         keyword_results = results[:limit]
 
         # Merge with semantic results if requested
+        # Weights: semantic 60%, keyword 40% (--semantic signals intent for
+        # conceptual matching; keyword acts as precision boost for exact terms)
         if semantic:
             embeddings_path = self.memory_dir / "_embeddings.json"
             if embeddings_path.exists():
                 sem_results = self.semantic_recall(query, limit=limit)
                 if sem_results:
-                    # Build merged score map: keyword_score + similarity * 5
                     score_map: Dict[str, float] = {}
                     result_map: Dict[str, Dict] = {}
 
-                    # Add keyword results with their position-based score
+                    # Keyword: normalize rank to 0-1 (rank 1 = 1.0, last = ~0.1)
+                    kw_weight = 0.4
                     for i, r in enumerate(keyword_results):
                         mid = r["id"]
-                        score_map[mid] = float(limit - i)  # higher rank = higher score
+                        normalized = (limit - i) / limit
+                        score_map[mid] = normalized * kw_weight
                         result_map[mid] = r
 
-                    # Add semantic results
+                    # Semantic: similarity is already 0-1
+                    sem_weight = 0.6
                     for r in sem_results:
                         mid = r["id"]
-                        sim_score = r.get("similarity", 0.0) * 5
+                        sim = r.get("similarity", 0.0)
+                        sem_score = sim * sem_weight
                         if mid in score_map:
-                            score_map[mid] += sim_score
-                            result_map[mid]["similarity"] = r.get("similarity", 0.0)
+                            score_map[mid] += sem_score
+                            result_map[mid]["similarity"] = sim
                         else:
-                            score_map[mid] = sim_score
-                            # Enrich with index data for consistent return format
+                            score_map[mid] = sem_score
                             idx_entry = index.get("entries", {}).get(mid, {})
                             s = state.get("entries", {}).get(mid, {})
                             result_map[mid] = {
@@ -976,7 +980,7 @@ class CognitiveMemoryClient:
                                 "tags": r.get("tags", []),
                                 "importance": idx_entry.get("importance"),
                                 "decay_score": round(s.get("decay_score", 0.5), 3),
-                                "similarity": r.get("similarity", 0.0),
+                                "similarity": sim,
                                 "path": r.get("path"),
                                 "created": idx_entry.get("created"),
                             }