diff --git a/src/shared/keybindings-conflicts.test.ts b/src/shared/keybindings-conflicts.test.ts
index b8c4ffba541..55192024590 100644
--- a/src/shared/keybindings-conflicts.test.ts
+++ b/src/shared/keybindings-conflicts.test.ts
@@ -92,6 +92,8 @@ describe('keybindings', () => {
       })
     ).toContain('view.tasks')
     expect(findKeybindingActionsForBinding('Mod+F', 'darwin')).not.toContain('editor.find')
+    // A German '+' key types Mod+Plus without Shift, the same chord as zoom.in's Mod+Shift+Plus.
+    expect(findKeybindingActionsForBinding('Mod+Plus', 'linux')).toContain('zoom.in')
   })
 
   it('reports quick-command menu conflicts with global shortcuts and digit ranges', () => {
diff --git a/src/shared/keybindings-keyboard-layout.test.ts b/src/shared/keybindings-keyboard-layout.test.ts
index 282c59cbb67..f9ff5865935 100644
--- a/src/shared/keybindings-keyboard-layout.test.ts
+++ b/src/shared/keybindings-keyboard-layout.test.ts
@@ -22,6 +22,31 @@ describe('keybindings', () => {
     ).toBe(true)
   })
 
+  it('zooms in on the plus key whether or not the layout needs Shift for it', () => {
+    const plusKey = { meta: false, control: true, alt: false }
+    // German/Swiss put '+' on BracketRight and Nordic layouts on Minus, both unshifted.
+    for (const platform of ['darwin', 'win32', 'linux'] as const) {
+      const mod = platform === 'darwin' ? { meta: true, control: false } : {}
+      for (const input of [
+        { key: '+', code: 'BracketRight', shift: false },
+        { key: '+', code: 'Minus', shift: false },
+        { key: '+', code: 'Equal', shift: true }
+      ]) {
+        expect(keybindingMatchesAction('zoom.in', { ...plusKey, ...mod, ...input }, platform)).toBe(
+          true
+        )
+      }
+      // Shift on the German '+' key types '*', which must not zoom.
+      expect(
+        keybindingMatchesAction(
+          'zoom.in',
+          { ...plusKey, ...mod, key: '*', code: 'BracketRight', shift: true },
+          platform
+        )
+      ).toBe(false)
+    }
+  })
+
   it('matches file explorer undo and redo by produced logical key', () => {
     expect(getEffectiveKeybindingsForAction('fileExplorer.undo', 'darwin')).toEqual(['Mod+Z'])
     expect(getEffectiveKeybindingsForAction('fileExplorer.redo', 'darwin')).toEqual(['Mod+Shift+Z'])
diff --git a/src/shared/keybindings/matching-key.ts b/src/shared/keybindings/matching-key.ts
index 919b0214418..da63c58ccf7 100644
--- a/src/shared/keybindings/matching-key.ts
+++ b/src/shared/keybindings/matching-key.ts
@@ -23,6 +23,13 @@ export function platformModifiers(
   }
 }
 
+// Why: '+' and '_' need Shift on US keyboards but not on others (German '+', AZERTY '_'), so Shift is how the layout spells them.
+const SHIFT_AGNOSTIC_KEY_TOKENS = new Set(['Plus', 'Underscore'])
+
+export function isShiftAgnosticKeyToken(key: string): boolean {
+  return SHIFT_AGNOSTIC_KEY_TOKENS.has(key)
+}
+
 export function modifierStateMatches(
   parsed: ParsedKeybinding,
   input: KeybindingInput,
@@ -33,7 +40,7 @@ export function modifierStateMatches(
     hasModifier(input, 'meta') === expected.meta &&
     hasModifier(input, 'control') === expected.control &&
     hasModifier(input, 'alt') === expected.alt &&
-    hasModifier(input, 'shift') === expected.shift
+    (isShiftAgnosticKeyToken(parsed.key) || hasModifier(input, 'shift') === expected.shift)
   )
 }
 
diff --git a/src/shared/keybindings/matching.ts b/src/shared/keybindings/matching.ts
index 1a3cd5f26aa..6f6a70278b2 100644
--- a/src/shared/keybindings/matching.ts
+++ b/src/shared/keybindings/matching.ts
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import {
   modifierStateMatches,
   keyMatches,
   digitKeyMatches,
+  isShiftAgnosticKeyToken,
   resolveModifierToken
 } from './matching-key'
 import {
@@ -57,7 +58,7 @@ export function keybindingConflictIdentityForParsed(
     modifiers.meta ? 'Meta' : '',
     modifiers.control ? 'Control' : '',
     modifiers.alt ? 'Alt' : '',
-    modifiers.shift ? 'Shift' : '',
+    modifiers.shift && !isShiftAgnosticKeyToken(parsed.key) ? 'Shift' : '',
     parsed.key
   ].join('+')
 }