-Dere

About

-Dere is a slang suffix used in a certain set of Japanese words each focused on a different personality. The suffix comes from the Japanese term “deredere” which means “exhausted”, “to laze around”, or in this case, “love-struck”^[1]. The terms are most often used to describe girls. There are currently four main -dere types: Tsundere, Yandere, Kuudere, and Dandere.

4 Main Types of -Dere

Tsundere

Tsundere is a term used to describe a character who is generally cold, hateful, and angry towards their love interest, often denying their feelings for him/her when confronted on the subject. As the story progresses, the character usually becomes more open about their feeling and will eventually confess to their love interest. The term is a portmanteau of “tsuntsun” meaning coldness, hatred, and/or bluntness and “deredere”, meaning love-struck.

Notable tsundere characters include Taiga from Toradora (shown below, left) and Rin Tohsaka from Fate/Stay Night (shown below, right)

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Yandere

Yandere is a term used to describe a character who is obsessed with another character, often violently. Yandere characters will usually appear normal at the beginning of a series, while progressively becoming more violently obsessed with another character, often times going so far as to kill people who they believe are a threat to their love interest. The term is a portmanteau of “yanderu”, meaning sick or mentally ill and “deredere”, discussed above^[2].

Notable yandere characters include Kotonoha Kastura from School Days (shown below, left) and Yuno Gasai from Mirai Nikki (shown below, right).

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Yangire

Yangire is a sub-category of the -dere group. Yangire is a portmanteau of “yandere” (discussed above) and "kireru"meaning “to lose one’s temper”. Yangire is a term used to describe a character who has sudden mental breakdowns. Yangire characters behave similarly to yandere characters but are not motivated by obsession.

A notable yangire character is Rena Ryugu from Higurashi no Naku Koro ni.

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Kuudere

Kuudere is a term used to describe a character who does not appear to care about their love interest at all, generally being perceived as cold. As the story progresses the character will generally start to open up. Kuudere characters should not be confused with tsundere charcters. A kuudere character will generally act indifferent towards their love interest while a tsundere character will be actively agressive. Kuudere is a portmanteau of “kuu”, the Japanese pronunciation of the English word “cool”, and “deredere”, discussed above^[3].

A notable kuudere character is Kanade Tachibana from Angel Beats (often referred to as the “Queen of Kuudere”).

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Dandere

Dandere is a term used to describe a quiet, or shy character. Dandere characters are usually quiet and outspoken when talking to their love interest. As the story progresses the character will usually become more confident in the presence of their love interest and will often find the courage to confess their feelings. Dandere is a portmanteau of “danmari”, meaning silence, and “deredere”, discussed above^[3].

Notable examples of a dandere characters include would be Hinata Hyuga from Naruto (shown below, left) and Yuki Nagato from The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan (shown below, right).

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Fandom

Many people have created personas or OCs (original characters) of themselves having one of these four personality types on websites such as DeviantArt. The most commonly used personality types are yandere (below, left) and tsundere (below, right), but kuudere and dandere are sometimes used as well.

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Related Memes

Mirai Nikki Yandere Face

The Mirai Nikki Yandere Face is a seductive face made by the yandere character Yuno Gasai from the anime Mirai Nikki. During the scene, Yuno is stating how she will protect the protagonist Yukiteru Amano^[4].

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Yandere CD

Yandere CD is a audio series containing containing different yandere girls^[5]. It is often the subject of parodies on “YouTube.”http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/sites/youtube

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Tsundere Sharks

Tsundere Sharks is a photoshop meme which depicts sharks blushing and stating phrases such as “It’s not like I like you…”, a stereotypical tsundere phrase.

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External Links

^[1]Urban Dictionary – Dere Dere

^[2]Wordnic – Yandere

^[3]Kotaku – How to Identify Popular Japanese Character Types

^[4]Know Your Meme – Mirai Nikki Yandere Face

^[5]Know Your Meme – Yandere CD

^[6]Know Your Meme – Tsundere Sharks