Dandere Meaning: What Is a Dandere?

Dandere at a glance

Where the word comes from

Danmari (黙り) means keeping silent, and it shares its root with damaru (黙る), to fall silent. Fans clipped it to dan and joined it to dere, the second half of deredere, the Japanese word for going soft and smitten over someone. The coinage followed tsundere and yandere and filled a gap they left: the love interest who isn't hiding behind an act at all, just struggling to find the words.

Shy, not cold: how a dandere talks

A dandere's dialogue changes as trust grows. Early on, every line costs them something. Later, you can't get them to stop. These are lines we wrote to show the range:

• Day one: "I... saved you a seat. If you want it. You don't have to."
• A few scenes in: "Sorry. I practiced saying hi on the way here and then I forgot it."
• Once they trust you: "Okay, so the thing about this book is... wait, am I talking too much? I'm talking too much."

That shift, from apologizing for one sentence to forgetting to be nervous, is the whole appeal of the type.

Well-known dandere characters

• Hinata Hyuga (Naruto): the soft-spoken heir of a ninja clan who admires Naruto from a distance and blushes when he notices her.
• Shoko Komi (Komi Can't Communicate): a girl so anxious about speaking that she talks through a notebook, while the whole school mistakes her silence for elegance.
• Sawako Kuronuma (Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You): a kind, earnest girl whose classmates misread her shyness as something spooky.

In romance stories the male dandere is a favorite too: the towering delivery man who can't confess, the bookish neighbor, the boy who writes what he can't say.

Dandere vs kuudere and deredere

A kuudere and a dandere both say little, but a kuudere is calm and in control, while a dandere is flustered and wishes they could say more. Catch a kuudere caring and you get a level "I noticed." Catch a dandere and they turn red and apologize.

A deredere is the dandere's opposite in one way and twin in another: both are sweet with no act to see through, but the deredere says everything out loud from the first scene, and the dandere takes a story to get there.

How to roleplay with a dandere

A dandere doesn't need cracking; they need room. In an interactive Story that means your replies set the pace:

• Ask small questions. Ones they can answer in a few words, so answering feels safe.
• Notice the effort. "You spoke up in the meeting. That was brave." Watch what it does.
• Never laugh at the stammer. Laugh with them once they're joking.
• Let silence be fine. Sit with them. The next line they offer will be longer.

On Teasa, try The Delivery You Want, where Shakube Renna has delivered your packages for months without a word about his crush, and today his brother has pushed him into trying. In The Barista Who Only Smiles, Jo Yewon is brusque with every customer except you. The Dandere collection has the rest.

Type speech as plain text and actions between asterisks, like *slides the umbrella toward them without a word*. With a free account you can DM any Character you meet, and Teasa's apps for iPhone, Android and Windows carry the same chats.

Writing your own dandere

Decide what they'd say if they weren't nervous, then write the version that comes out. Give them one subject that makes them forget to be shy, and let their lines grow a little longer each time the player is kind.

FAQ

What is a dandere?

A dandere is a shy, quiet character who barely talks to most people but becomes warm and chatty with the one person they trust. The word comes from danmari (silence) and deredere (lovestruck).

What does dandere mean?

It means "silent and lovestruck." The dandere's quiet comes from shyness, so they open up once they feel safe.

Is a dandere the same as a kuudere?

No. A kuudere is calm and emotionally reserved by nature; a dandere is nervous and flustered, and wishes they could say more.

How do you pronounce dandere?

DAHN-deh-reh, with the "a" as in "father."

More to read

See every type side by side in the dere types guide, find out which one you fall for with the dere type quiz, or decode other fan words in the fandom terms glossary. Teasa's Stories come in seven languages, so you can meet your dandere in the one you read best.