diff --git a/plugins/vi-mode/vi-mode.plugin.zsh b/plugins/vi-mode/vi-mode.plugin.zsh
index 45ec22a09..1de8bf91a 100644
--- a/plugins/vi-mode/vi-mode.plugin.zsh
+++ b/plugins/vi-mode/vi-mode.plugin.zsh
@@ -38,6 +38,11 @@ bindkey -M vicmd 'v' edit-command-line
 bindkey '^P' up-history
 bindkey '^N' down-history
 
+# allow ctrl-h, ctrl-w, ctrl-? for char and word deletion (standard behaviour)
+bindkey '^?' backward-delete-char
+bindkey '^h' backward-delete-char
+bindkey '^w' backward-kill-word
+
 # if mode indicator wasn't setup by theme, define default
 if [[ "$MODE_INDICATOR" == "" ]]; then
   MODE_INDICATOR="%{$fg_bold[red]%}<%{$fg[red]%}<<%{$reset_color%}"