ヤンデレ

Japanese Slang Japanese ★★★ 3/5 casual ヤンデレyandere

読み ヤンデレ

ローマ字 yandere

漢字の分解 From 病む (yamu: to be mentally ill) + デレデレ (deredere: lovestruck) → lovesick to the point of obsession

発音 /jaɴ.de.ɾe/

意味

A character archetype or personality describing someone lovesick to the point of violent obsession — sick with love.

ヤンデレ combines 病む (yamu, to be mentally ill) with デレデレ (deredere, lovestruck/infatuated) to describe a person whose romantic devotion has curdled into dangerous obsession. Popularised through visual novels, anime, and manga in the mid-2000s, the archetype features characters who appear sweet but harbour terrifying jealousy and possessiveness. While primarily used to describe fictional characters, it has crossed over into casual conversation to describe real people who exhibit extreme jealousy in relationships.

例文

彼女ちょっとヤンデレ入ってない？スマホ毎日チェックしてるらしいよ。
あのアニメのヤンデレキャラ、怖いけどなんか人気あるよね。
ヤンデレって言われるけど、好きな人を守りたいだけなんだけどな。

使い方ガイド

場面: anime/manga, internet, friends

トーン: descriptive, humorous

正しい言い方

推しのヤンデレキャラが最高すぎる。 (My favourite yandere character is just the best.)
あの子ヤンデレっぽい行動してて怖い。 (That person has been acting kinda yandere and it's scary.)

避ける言い方

ストーカー行為をしている人に冗談で「ヤンデレだね」は危険を軽視している (Joking 'you're such a yandere' to someone who is actually stalking trivialises dangerous behaviour)

よくある間違い

Confusing ヤンデレ with ツンデレ — ツンデレ is cold-then-warm, while ヤンデレ is sweet-then-dangerously-obsessive
Using ヤンデレ to describe normal jealousy — true ヤンデレ implies extreme, potentially violent obsession

起源と歴史

From 病む (yamu: to be mentally ill/sick) + デレデレ (deredere: lovestruck). Coined in otaku communities in the mid-2000s as a counterpart to ツンデレ. Popularised by visual novels and anime such as School Days and Future Diary.

文化的背景

時代: Mid-2000s otaku culture

世代: Teens to 30s, anime/manga fans

社会的背景: Otaku culture, now broader internet usage

地域メモ: Known across Japan and internationally through anime fandom. The word has been borrowed into English and other languages. Iconic examples include Yuno Gasai (Future Diary) and Kotonoha Katsura (School Days).