diff --git a/.changeset/great-chairs-knock.md b/.changeset/great-chairs-knock.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e70d8ab
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/great-chairs-knock.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"github-vscode-theme": patch
+---
+
+Add better placeholder colors for semantic highlighting
diff --git a/src/theme.js b/src/theme.js
index a7df72f..eb0d93d 100644
--- a/src/theme.js
+++ b/src/theme.js
@@ -331,6 +331,15 @@ function getTheme({ theme, name }) {
           foreground: lightDark(scale.gray[5], scale.gray[3])
         },
       },
+      {
+        scope: [
+          "constant.other.placeholder", 
+          "constant.character"
+        ],
+        settings: {
+          foreground: lightDark(scale.red[5], scale.red[3])
+        },
+      },
       {
         scope: [
           "constant",