Dandere: A stock love interest who is quiet and asocial. They are afraid to talk, fearing that what they say will get them in trouble.
A dandere character is one who is normally quiet and silent, possibly to the point of coming across as emotionless at times, but will suddenly become talkative, sweet, and cute when alone with the right person if they manage to push the right button to get them to pour their heart out, revealing that they're actually just shy.
Personality
A dandere will more or less be a normal person, but will not talk unless spoken to/required to. They will avoid talking because of their shyness, but if need be, they will speak. Also, a dandere tends to feel more power in numbers. If they're with a group that they're comfortable with, then the shyness factor of said dandere will very likely decrease if another, unfamiliar person is introduced at that time.
The difference between a Dandere and a Kuudere is that a Dandere character may be nervous inside (not cool) but even so will prefer to stay silent, and a Kuudere character can speak while still keeping their cool.
The difference between a Dandere and a Hajidere is that Danderes are quiet (which is usually associated with their shyness) in front of people they don't know, while Hajideres only get shy towards a certain person.
The difference between a Dandere and a Bodere is that Danderes can get really nervous and will try to hide from others when embarrassed, while Boderes will become more aggressive when someone makes them blush, similar to Tsundere characters.
Meaning of the Name
The “dan” in dandere comes from the Japanese word “danmari” (黙り) meaning "silence", and the "dere" comes from "deredere" (デレデレ), which means "lovey dovey".
The word danmari comes from the verb damaru 黙る which means "to stay quiet."
And, finally, this word I think you might have heard in anime before, the word damaru can be turned in an imperative by adding nasai to it. Like this:
- damari nasai! 黙りなさい！
Silence!
Stay quiet!
Shut up!
One note, though, is that this word is exceptionally rare in Japanese despite being extremely common in English. The reason for this uncommon word being used for the dere type is unknown.
Dandy Dandere
In some dictionaries dandere is also defined as the combination of dandyi ダンヂィ, "dandy," plus dere. However, we can pretty much ignore this meaning, because that isn't the meaning used in the west, and dandere is rarely used in Japan, so nobody ever means that when they say dandere.
Characters with this Personality
See Dandere/Anime Characters to see characters from anime media.
See Dandere/Western Characters to see characters from western media.
Gallery
Main Article: Dandere/Gallery
See more images in the Dandere/Gallery.