tsundere

A tsundere is a character, or a person, who acts cold, prickly or even hostile at first but is secretly warm and caring underneath. The classic tsundere line: “It’s not like I did this for you or anything!”

What tsundere means

The word joins two Japanese expressions: tsun-tsun, meaning aloof or irritable, and dere-dere, meaning affectionate or lovey-dovey. A tsundere character often insults or brushes off the person they like, blushes when caught being kind, and only slowly lets their soft side show. It’s one of anime’s most recognisable character types.

People also use it jokingly in real life, for a friend who pretends not to care but always shows up when it counts.

Examples

• “She insults him constantly but knitted him a scarf. Total tsundere.”
• “My cat is a tsundere: ignores me all day, then sleeps on my face.”
• “He’s the tsundere of our friend group.”
• “Classic tsundere move: ‘I didn’t buy you coffee because I like you.’”

Tsundere vs. yandere

A tsundere hides affection behind rudeness and is basically harmless. A yandere starts sweet and becomes dangerously obsessive. One is a comedy trope; the other is closer to horror.

Where tsundere comes from

According to Dictionary.com, the character type became popular in Japanese media in the early 2000s, and the word began appearing in English around 2007. Wikipedia says it first appeared in dating-sim games and was popularized by the visual novel Kimi ga Nozomu Eien.

Related terms

• Yandere: sweet, then dangerously obsessive.
• Waifu: a beloved fictional character.
• Senpai: an admired older student.
• Kawaii: cute.

Explore more in our anime slang dictionary.