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Let's say someone has made me very angry, so I say: "You're rude. You have no respect. You're just a big idiot."

Is it natural to say "You have no respect" without adding more to it? Can it stand alone to mean "you're showing no respect"?

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  • In context, the implication is that it's to you that no respect is being shown. But to be specific, you need to add for me. Whether you want to be insulting by calling the person an idiot is another matter.
    – Ronald Sole
    Nov 20 '20 at 13:46
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"You have no respect" is perfectly idiomatic. You can elaborate and say, for example, "you have no respect for others", but it is common to leave it there.

Respect is often spoken of as a quality that people possess, or not. Saying someone has "no respect" is not that different from saying they have "no patience" or "no common sense" - it's an insult, it doesn't have to be detailed.

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I think there is no need for additing anything. In other words, if you say

"Don't say that to me! You are so disrespectful!"

nothing should be specified out of context. In this example, it is obvious that the listener is being disrespectful [is showing disrespectful behavior] to the speaker in some way, so is it in yours. Yes, you can say "have/show no respect" both of which are commonly used.

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