Chinese expression “没心没肺 no heart no lungs” and “没头没脑 no head no brains” has nothing to do with defo

If someone is mentioned by others with the word of 没心没肺 méixīnméifèi, it has no indication of one being deformed in any ways. It’s actually a Chinese expression that describes one as “not sensible”, “not considerate” or “not caring”. 心肺 xīnméi (heart, lung) in Chinese culture usually symbolizes the place wher one’s conscience and feelings reside.

If  没心没肺 méixīnméifèi (lit. no heart, no lungs) is used in serious tone, then it’s serious criticism. If it’s used in a more relaxed, half kidding tone, then it’s not a serious accusation. I’ll show you the difference in the following two examples:

 

    nǐ zhèyàng duìdài zìjǐ de fùmǔ， zhēn shì méixīnméifèi!

    你这样对待自己的父母，真是没心没肺!

    You’re a person with no conscience, treating your parents that way! (serious criticism)

    

    xiànzài de xiǎoháizi zhǐ huì méixīnméifèi dì wán。

    现在的小孩子只会没心没肺地玩。

    Kids nowadays care about nothing else but playing. (in a kidding tone)

 

没头没脑 méi tóu méi nǎo (lit. no head, no brain) is another word that constructed in the similar way . 没头没脑 méi tóu méi nǎo means “doing things without careful thinking“. For example,

 

    wǒ shénme yě méi wèn jiù méi tóu méi nǎo dì gēn tā zǒu le。

    我什么也没问就没头没脑地跟他走了。

    I blindly followed him without asking any questions.

    

    tā zǒngshì méi tóu méi nǎo dì fàn tóngyàng de cuòwù。

    她总是没头没脑地犯同样的错误。

    She stupidly kept making the same mistake.

 

Is it clear now? If yes, please go ahead make some sentences with these two words. Try to construct sentences in different tones and read them out loud to practice. Have fun!