diff --git a/packages/compiler/src/frontend/lowering/expressions/element-access.ts b/packages/compiler/src/frontend/lowering/expressions/element-access.ts
index 7ef4b9f25..bede93072 100644
--- a/packages/compiler/src/frontend/lowering/expressions/element-access.ts
+++ b/packages/compiler/src/frontend/lowering/expressions/element-access.ts
@@ -235,7 +235,7 @@ export function lowerElementAccess(lowerer: Lowerer, expr: ts.ElementAccessExpre
     const receiver = tryLowerExpression(lowerer, expr.expression);
     if (receiver?.type.kind === "dyn") {
       const key = lowerer.lowerExprExpecting(expr.argumentExpression, DYN);
-      const optional = hasOptionalChainGuard(expr.expression);
+      const optional = hasOptionalChainGuard(expr.expression, lowerer);
       return lowerer.maybeNarrow(
         {
           kind: "dynKeyGet",
@@ -378,7 +378,7 @@ export function lowerElementAccess(lowerer: Lowerer, expr: ts.ElementAccessExpre
           lowerer.lowerExpr(expr.argumentExpression),
           expr.argumentExpression,
         );
-        const optional = hasOptionalChainGuard(expr.expression);
+        const optional = hasOptionalChainGuard(expr.expression, lowerer);
         return lowerer.maybeNarrow(
           {
             kind: "dynKeyGet",
@@ -488,7 +488,7 @@ export function lowerElementAccess(lowerer: Lowerer, expr: ts.ElementAccessExpre
           ? lowerer.coerceToExpected(rawKey, DYN)
           : lowerRecordPropertyKey(lowerer, rawKey, expr.argumentExpression);
       if (key.type.kind === "string" || key.type.kind === "dyn") {
-        const opt = hasOptionalChainGuard(expr.expression);
+        const opt = hasOptionalChainGuard(expr.expression, lowerer);
         return lowerer.maybeNarrow(
           {
             kind: "dynKeyGet",
diff --git a/packages/compiler/src/frontend/lowering/expressions/optional-chains.ts b/packages/compiler/src/frontend/lowering/expressions/optional-chains.ts
index 5dc512a6c..fbcecdc32 100644
--- a/packages/compiler/src/frontend/lowering/expressions/optional-chains.ts
+++ b/packages/compiler/src/frontend/lowering/expressions/optional-chains.ts
@@ -98,7 +98,11 @@ export function isRequireMainFilename(lowerer: Lowerer, expr: ts.Expression): bo
 export function isOptionalChainTail(lowerer: Lowerer, expr: ts.Expression): boolean {
   const tail = chainTailDot(lowerer, expr);
   if (!tail) return false;
-  const recvT = lowerer.mapTypeOf(lowerer.typeOf(tail.expression));
+  const recvTs = lowerer.typeOf(tail.expression);
+  // An `any` receiver short-circuits the whole tail too: `a?.b.c` reads
+  // `.c` normally once `a` is present.
+  if (recvTs.flags & ts.TypeFlags.Any) return true;
+  const recvT = lowerer.mapTypeOf(recvTs);
   if (recvT?.kind === "dyn") return true;
   if (recvT?.kind === "union") {
     const def = lowerer.unions.get(recvT.unionId);
@@ -119,7 +123,7 @@ export function isOptionalChainTail(lowerer: Lowerer, expr: ts.Expression): bool
  * throwing. Walks the receiver spine only; the argument of the access
  * itself is not part of the guard. Parentheses end the chain
  * (`(a?.b).c` reads `.c` from undefined); `!` does not. */
-export function hasOptionalChainGuard(expr: ts.Expression): boolean {
+export function hasOptionalChainGuard(expr: ts.Expression, lowerer?: Lowerer): boolean {
   let cur: ts.Expression = expr;
   for (;;) {
     if (ts.isNonNullExpression(cur)) {
@@ -131,7 +135,11 @@ export function hasOptionalChainGuard(expr: ts.Expression): boolean {
       ts.isElementAccessExpression(cur) ||
       ts.isCallExpression(cur)
     ) {
-      if (cur.questionDotToken) return true;
+      // Inside an optional chain's guarded body (dynamic reads pass the
+      // lowerer), the enclosing optChain already short-circuits on the
+      // consumed token, so the steps above it read normally: `a?.b.c`
+      // throws when `a.b` is undefined.
+      if (cur.questionDotToken) return lowerer === undefined || !lowerer.chainHandled.has(cur);
       cur = cur.expression;
       continue;
     }
diff --git a/packages/compiler/src/frontend/lowering/expressions/property-access.ts b/packages/compiler/src/frontend/lowering/expressions/property-access.ts
index d121a454e..36f474aab 100644
--- a/packages/compiler/src/frontend/lowering/expressions/property-access.ts
+++ b/packages/compiler/src/frontend/lowering/expressions/property-access.ts
@@ -874,7 +874,7 @@ export function lowerPropertyAccessExpr(
         type: STRING,
         loc: locOf(expr.name),
       };
-      const opt = hasOptionalChainGuard(expr.expression);
+      const opt = hasOptionalChainGuard(expr.expression, lowerer);
       return lowerer.maybeNarrow(
         {
           kind: "dynKeyGet",
@@ -983,7 +983,7 @@ export function lowerPropertyAccessExpr(
         type: STRING,
         loc: locOf(expr.name),
       };
-      const opt = hasOptionalChainGuard(expr.expression);
+      const opt = hasOptionalChainGuard(expr.expression, lowerer);
       return lowerer.maybeNarrow(
         {
           kind: "dynKeyGet",
@@ -1115,7 +1115,7 @@ export function lowerPropertyAccessExpr(
         type: STRING,
         loc: locOf(expr.name),
       };
-      const opt = hasOptionalChainGuard(expr.expression);
+      const opt = hasOptionalChainGuard(expr.expression, lowerer);
       const read: IrExpr = {
         kind: "dynKeyGet",
         key,
@@ -1210,7 +1210,7 @@ export function lowerPropertyAccessExpr(
       type: STRING,
       loc: locOf(expr.name),
     };
-    const opt = hasOptionalChainGuard(expr.expression);
+    const opt = hasOptionalChainGuard(expr.expression, lowerer);
     return lowerer.maybeNarrow(
       {
         kind: "dynKeyGet",
@@ -2829,7 +2829,7 @@ export function lowerFieldRead(lowerer: Lowerer, expr: ts.PropertyAccessExpressi
           kind: "dynKeyGet",
           value,
           key: { kind: "strLit", value: expr.name.text, type: STRING, loc: locOf(expr.name) },
-          ...(expr.questionDotToken || hasOptionalChainGuard(expr.expression)
+          ...(expr.questionDotToken || hasOptionalChainGuard(expr.expression, lowerer)
             ? { optional: true as const }
             : {}),
           type: DYN,
@@ -3185,7 +3185,7 @@ export function lowerUnionProperty(
       kind: "dynKeyGet",
       value: lowerer.coerceToExpected(value, DYN),
       key,
-      ...(hasOptionalChainGuard(expr.expression) ? { optional: true as const } : {}),
+      ...(hasOptionalChainGuard(expr.expression, lowerer) ? { optional: true as const } : {}),
       type: DYN,
       loc: locOf(expr),
     };
diff --git a/packages/compiler/test/ts7/baselines/order-parity/tests/corpus/optional-chain-any-tail.ts.json b/packages/compiler/test/ts7/baselines/order-parity/tests/corpus/optional-chain-any-tail.ts.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b4cffb975
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/compiler/test/ts7/baselines/order-parity/tests/corpus/optional-chain-any-tail.ts.json
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+{
+ "order": [
+  "<repo>/tests/corpus/optional-chain-any-tail.ts"
+ ],
+ "diags": []
+}
diff --git a/tests/corpus/optional-chain-any-tail.ts b/tests/corpus/optional-chain-any-tail.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..89e516161
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/corpus/optional-chain-any-tail.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+// An optional chain on an `any` value short-circuits only on the guarded
+// step: `a?.b.c` is undefined when `a` is nullish and throws when `a` is
+// present but `a.b` is undefined, as in Node.
+function read(label: string, f: () => unknown): void {
+  try {
+    console.log(label, f());
+  } catch (e) {
+    console.log(label, "threw", (e as Error).message);
+  }
+}
+
+const present: any = JSON.parse('{"b":{"c":{"d":1}},"k":{"method":null}}');
+const empty: any = JSON.parse('{"b":{}}');
+const none: any = null;
+
+read("present", () => present?.b.c.d);
+read("missing tail", () => empty?.b.c.d);
+read("nullish root", () => none?.b.c.d);
+read("second guard", () => empty?.b.c?.d);
+read("element", () => present?.["k"].method);
+read("call on nullish", () => none?.["k"].method?.());
+read("nested guard", () => empty.x?.b.c);