Meaning and Usage of へったくれもない (hettakure mo nai)

Definition

“X も へったくれ も ない” (X is an arbitrary noun) is an idiomatic Japanese expression that means “there is no X or anything (at all)”. Here, へったくれ means “something frivolous/valueless” and is only used in this expression and its other variations, such as “Xもへったくれもあるか” and “Xもへったくれもあるものか“. Similar to this phrase, there is another expression “Xもクソもない”, meaning “there is no X or sh*t (at all)”, and it obviously sounds much more vulgar than “Xもへったくれもない”.

Usage

Example

Ex1

彼(かれ)、車(くるま)からよくポイ捨(す)てするって聞(き)いたけど、モラルもへったくれもないな (≒ モラルもクソもない [more vulgar])

I’ve heard he often litters from a car. He has no morals or anything at all. 

* ポイ捨(す)てする: to litter

Ex2

毎日（まいにち）カップラーメンを食（た）べているなら、栄養（えいよう）バランスもへったくれもあるか/クソもあるか。
If you eat instant noodles every day, there is no nutritional balance or anything at all (there is no room whatsoever for discussing nutritional balance).

Ex3

ファッションセンスもへったくれもない/クソもないから、何(なに)を着(き)れば良(い)いかが分(わ)からない。
Because I have no taste or anything in fashion,  I don’t know what to wear.

＊センス is a loanword from the English word “sense”, but in Japanese it means “taste/talent”. Learn more English words used in Japanese (with a bit different meanings) at:

Japanese Wasei-Eigo List (“Japlish”) and Their Meanings

Related Words

Synonym

〜のかけらもない “even a piece of ~ does not exist.”

全（まった）く〜ない: “not ~ at all”

全然（ぜんぜん）〜ない “not ~ at all”

* In a casual conversation, 全然 is also used in a positive sentence; see the post below.

Slang Meaning of 全然 (Zenzen) Without ない (Nai)