Dere Types in Anime: Tsundere, Yandere, Kuudere, Dandere and Others
Dere types in anime describe how a character "melts" (デレ) when in love. A tsundere is rude and blushes, a yandere becomes obsessed, a kuudere keeps a cool tone, a dandere goes silent from shyness, a deredere is openly in love, and a himedere expects to be treated like a princess. There is no official registry of types — it is a fan classification.
Each type shares the ending デレ and has its own first half that describes the character's behavior before they "melt." Of the six types, only tsundere and yandere have become truly widespread; the others were born later as fan derivatives following the same pattern. Let's look at how this naming scheme works, compare all the types in one table, and explain where the fashion for dividing anime characters into "dere" types came from.
What "dere" means and how type names are built
デレ is short for でれでれ (deredere): in ordinary Japanese it describes someone who has gone all soft and lovey-dovey, acting tender and a bit silly from affection. Fans take a word describing the character's personality before falling in love, cut it short, and attach デレ — and the type name is born.
| Japanese | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| デレデレ | deredere · deredere | To melt, to go soft with affection — the shared ending of all types |
| ツンツン | tsuntsun · tsuntsun | Prickly, pouty — hence tsundere |
| 病んでる | yanderu · yanderu | Sick, unwell — hence yandere |
| クール | kūru · kuuru | Cool, unruffled — hence kuudere |
| だんまり | dammari · dammari | Silence, muteness — hence dandere |
| 姫 | hime · hime | Princess — hence himedere |
How one root gives rise to a whole family of words
The pattern is always the same: a personality trait "before" plus デレ "after." So just from the type name you can already guess what to expect from the character at the start of the story — rudeness, coldness, silence, or anxious affection — and what will happen when they finally open up.
Full table: tsundere, yandere, kuudere and others
| Type | How it's written | What it's about | How they act around someone they like | Often cited example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tsundere | ツンデレ | Rudeness hides affection | Snaps at people in public, warms up in private | Taiga Aisaka, "Toradora!" (とらドラ!, 2008, J.C.Staff) |
| Yandere | ヤンデレ | Love turns into obsession | Affectionate from the first scene, jealousy drives threats | Yuno Gasai, "Future Diary" (未来日記, 2011, Asread) |
| Kuudere | クーデレ | Coldness hides emotions, not their absence | Speaks evenly, rare flashes of warmth only with "their" person | Rei Ayanami, "Evangelion" (新世紀エヴァンゲリオン, 1995, Gainax) |
| Dandere | ダンデレ | Silence from shyness, not coldness | Gets flustered in public, comes alive around a trusted person | Shouko Komi, "Komi Can't Communicate" (2021, OLM) |
| Deredere | デレデレ | Open affection with no hidden second side | Doesn't hide their feelings from the start | Sakura Kinomoto, "Cardcaptor Sakura" (1998, Madhouse) |
| Himedere | ヒメデレ | Expects to be treated like royalty | Only melts from "royal" attention and admiration | A rare and vague type — reliable examples are few |
How to tell a kuudere from a dandere
Both seem closed off, but for different reasons. A dandere is silent from shyness and easily gets flustered when spoken to directly. A kuudere isn't shy — she deliberately keeps her distance and speaks evenly even with someone she likes.
Where the fashion for dividing characters into "dere" types came from
ツンデレ appeared before the others: the first online mentions date to 2002, and by 2006 the word had reached mass magazines. Around then the derivative "tsunderella" (ツンデレラ) — a name for fans of such heroines — was nominated for the 2006 "Word of the Year" award (ユーキャン新語・流行語大賞), but didn't win. ツンデレ itself entered Japanese new-word dictionaries — "Imidas" and "Gendai Yougo no Kiso Chishiki" — as early as 2005–2006.
Why the Japanese internet has more dere types than anime does
Honestly: almost all types besides tsundere and yandere are later fan derivatives following the same pattern, not recognized dictionary words. Kuudere, dandere, deredere and himedere were born in blogs and forums after tsundere and yandere had already proven that this classification works.
FAQ
- What dere types are there?
- The main ones are tsundere (rudeness hides affection), yandere (love-obsession), kuudere (coldness hides emotions), dandere (silence from shyness), deredere (open affection) and himedere (princess behavior). All share the ending デレ — "to melt with affection."
- What does "dere" mean in words like tsundere and yandere?
- デレ is short for でれでれ, "to melt, to go soft with affection." The first part of the word describes how the character acted before falling in love, and デレ describes what happens when the mask comes off.
- How is a kuudere different from a dandere?
- The easiest way is to listen to the voice: a kuudere's stays even in any situation, while a dandere's breaks and falters as soon as you speak to her first. A kuudere chose her distance herself; a dandere isn't playing at her awkwardness.
- Which dere type is the rarest?
- Himedere: it has no truly universally recognized example, and descriptions in fan sources vary widely. The other five types appear in anime noticeably more often and are more confidently recognized by viewers.
- How are dere types written in Japanese?
- All in katakana, because they are slang coinages: ツンデレ, ヤンデレ, クーデレ, ダンデレ, デレデレ, ヒメデレ. Katakana in Japanese is typically used for such fresh words of fan origin.
Updated: 2026-09-14