English

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Japanese クーデレ (kūdere), a portmanteau of クール (kūru, calm), from English cool, and デレデレ (dere-dere, in a lovey-dovey, infatuated, or lovestruck manner, adverb).[1]

Noun

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kuudere (plural kuudere or kuuderes)

  1. (chiefly Japanese fiction) A calm, aloof, reserved fictional character (usually a girl) who has a hidden soft side, especially for a love interest.
    • 2018, Ichiro Sakaki, translated by Kevin Steinbach, Outbreak Company, volume 5, unnumbered page:
      True, she wasn't very expressive—or anyway, I didn't feel like I saw a lot of emotion from her—but if I thought of her as a kuudere, or one of those “weird girl” types, that could actually be seen as a positive.
    • 2018, "Moogle", "Cool As Rain", Otakuzine Anime Magazine, Issue #121, page 40:
      The cool and tough exterior she displays makes for a good kuudere, and the blue eyes and silver hair already sets her up for the role in the Clannad series.
    • 2021, Rifujin na Magonote, Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation, Volume 11[1], unnumbered page:
      Her words were as cool as ever, but there was a hint of embarrassment in her voice. Could she be one of those “kuuderes” I'd heard so much abou
    • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:kuudere.
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References

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  1. ^ Tsundere, Yandere, Kuudere, Dandere - Meaning”, in Japanese with Anime, 2016 July 21, Kuudere クーデレ