Japanese Grammar In Its Natural Habitat
Wild Nihongo!
てはいけない / てはならない

てはいけない / てはならない

てはいけない / てはならない Japanese Grammar Lesson

Grammar Type: Phrase

Essential Meaning: Must not do X / Do not do X

Construction: 

  • Verb て-Form + はいけない
    • E.g. 話はなしてはいけない [X must not speak]
    • E.g. 食たべてはいけない [ X must not eat]

Notes:

  • てはいけない is used to express prohibition against some action (i.e. “X can not Y“, “X must not Y“, “X should not Y“).
  • The second person (i.e. the person being spoken to and having a prohibition imposed upon them) is usually omitted. This is generally true of second person subjects in Japanese.
    • E.g. この部屋へやに入はいってはいけない。[You must not enter this room.]
    • E.g. 教室きょうしつでものを食たべてはいけない。[You must not eat in the classroom.]
  • てはいけない is often used as a negative response to the question X てもいいですか？ [May I…?].
    • E.g. A: 食たべてもいいですか。B: いいえ、食たべてはいけない。[A: May I eat? B: No, you may not eat.]
  • てはならない is basically a stronger version of てはいけない.
    • E.g. この部屋へやに入はいってはならない。[You must not enter this room.]

Example Sentences:

この部屋へやに入はいってはいけない。[You must not enter this room.]

教室きょうしつでものを食たべてはいけない。[You must not eat in the classroom.]

花子はなこはまだ酒さけを飲のんではいけない。[Hanako must not drink alcohol yet.]

WILD Examples:

At 0:28, listen for this line: 俺おれより先さきに寝ねてはいけない、俺おれより後あとに起おきてもいけない [You mustn’t go to bed before me, and you also mustn’t wake up after me] Note the use of ても in the latter example.

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