|
|
Mafuyu: "To make an impact, we should produce something really eye-catching." Maika: "I like that!" Mafuyu: "The main point would be traditional strawberries." Maika: "I like that!" Mafuyu: "Maika!" Maika: "I-I-I like that!"
Undere (JP) is a term for a character who says "yeah" or "I agree" to almost everything their love interest says so they don't upset them and can stay being deredere with them. Instead of saying "no" and causing a potential conflict over something small, they will simply say "mhm" and pretend like they agree with them so they can stay being lovey-dovey. While they don't hide their feelings of love and will act cute and lovey-dovey towards their love interest the entire time, this can cause them to feel a bit distant from their love interest since they don't always feel comfortable speaking their true opinions out of fear of it causing an argument.
Etymology
Meaning of the Term
Undere is a combination of "un" (ウン), a casual sound meaning "mhm, uh-huh, yeah" and "deredere" (デレデレ), a mimetic word for "being lovestruck".
Although it is spelled as "un" it is pronounced like "nn" with a closed mouth mumble, similar to the English "mhm".
Origin
The term "undere" originates from the 1905 novel Memories of Soseki (JP) written by Kyoko Natsume.[2][3] The story was a biography about her real-life husband Soseki Natsume who is widely regarded as one of the most influential authors in Japanese history. In the novel, the term is used to describe the philosophy of her husband as being his key to a healthy marriage. This makes it the first known usage of a "dere type", even predating tsundere by nearly 100 years.[4]
The term comes from the following passage: "It's confined to human undere. Isn't it better to just listen to everything your wife has to say and just be deredere about it? If it weren't for undere there would be constant quarrels between husband and wife." (JP)[1]
Personality
Undere are characters who say "yeah", "mhm", "uh-huh" or "I agree" to almost everything their love interest tells them so they don't start an argument with them or upset them. Instead of saying "no" and causing a potential conflict, they will simply say "yeah" and pretend like they agree so they can stay being lovey-dovey with them. They are very dishonest with themselves and don't want to express their opinions openly to their love interest. This can cause them to become distant from their love interest on an emotional level and they may feel uncomfortable sharing an opinion if they think it might upset their love interest.
An undere could be best summed up in one phrase as being a "people pleaser".
Differences From Other Archetypes
Undere is probably most similar to usodere since both types are dishonest with sharing their true thoughts and feelings with their love interest, but the main difference is an usodere goes out of their way to tell a lie while an undere simply lies by omitting the truth. If for example, their love interest asked the undere if they were "okay with having ramen for dinner" they would simply say "yeah" and leave out the part where they would rather not have it to not upset their love interest who might be looking forward to eating ramen. On the other hand, an usodere will make up intricate lies to win the heart of their love interest but will eventually come to be honest with them.
There are a few similarities between an undere and a deredere since they both always try to be happy and sweet to their love interest to please them, however, an undere fakes their happiness and agreement as not to start a conflict whereas deredere are genuinely happy with their love interest and are willing to call their love interest out if they disagree with something they say or do.
Similar Japanese Archetypes
- Usodere A term for a character who lies and uses tricks to win the heart of their love interest.
List of Characters
See Undere/Japanese Characters to see characters from Japanese media.
See Undere/Non-Japanese Characters to see characters from non-Japanese media.
Gallery
.gif "Maika Sakuranomiya from Blend S (1).gif (7.28 MB)") Maika Sakuranomiya from Blend S  Kotori Minami from Love Live! School idol project  Kotori Minami from Love Live! School idol project  Kotori Minami from Love Live! School idol project  Kotori Minami from Love Live! School idol project .jpg "Holy Kujo (Jojo's Bizarre Adventure).jpg (86 KB)") Holy Kujo from JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken - Part 3 : Stardust Crusaders |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Undere. Sirimasenyo (2006/02/24).
- ↑ Undere. Seigura (2013/11/21).
- ↑ Memories of Soseki. Amazon (1966).
- ↑ The Original "Tsundere"?! 100 Years Ago, A Conversation Between Natsume Soseki And Terada Torahiko Called "Undere". Hoshi Biyori (2013/01/14).
| v • eDere Types | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | Standard |
Bakadere ♥ Biridere ♥ Bokodere ♥ Butsudere ♥ Dandere ♥ Darudere ♥ Deredere ♥ Dorodere ♥ Erodere ♥ Gandere ♥ Goudere ♥ Gundere ♥ Hajidere ♥ Himedere ♥ Hinedere ♥ Kamidere ♥ Kichidere ♥ Kiridere ♥ Kuudere ♥ M Dere ♥ Nyandere ♥ Onidere ♥ Rindere ♥ Roshidere ♥ S Dere ♥ Shindere ♥ Shundere ♥ Tsundere ♥ Tsuyodere ♥ Undere ♥ Usodere ♥ Utsudere ♥ Uzadere ♥ Wandere ♥ Yandere (Yanderu) ♥ Yandere (Yankii) ♥ Yoidere ♥ Zondere ♥ | |
| Variations |
Deretsun ♥ Tsun-Aho ♥ Tsun-Ama ♥ Tsunbaka ♥ Tsundora ♥ Tsunneko ♥ Tsun-Pure ♥ Tsunpuri ♥ Tsunshun ♥ Tsuntere ♥ | ||
| Western | Standard |
Bocchandere ♥ Byoukidere ♥ Kanedere ♥ Kekkondere ♥ Nemuidere ♥ Oujidere ♥ Oujodere ♥ Smugdere ♥ Teasedere ♥ Thugdere ♥ | |
| Variations |
Ahodere (Western) ♥ Kamidere (Western) ♥ Kidere ♥ Mayadere (Western) ♥ Megadere (Western) ♥ | ||
| Other | |||