ツンデレ (tsundere)

What it means

1. 1.

   Someone prickly on the surface and soft underneath, who shows affection by insulting you and then quietly doing you a favour.

2. 2.

   Originally a character archetype in manga and games; now used of real people, pets and even shops with brusque owners.

Examples with translations

• うちの猫、完全にツンデレ。

  Our cat is textbook tsundere.

• 彼、ツンデレだから素直に褒めないよ。

  He's the prickly type — don't expect a straight compliment.

Where it comes from

ツンツン (standoffish, nose-in-the-air) plus デレデレ (lovestruck, gooey). Coined in Japanese game fandom around 2002 and exported wholesale into English fan vocabulary.

First attested: 2002

Other forms

Romanised as:

tsundere