てはいけない
Meanings
- must not
- may not
- not allowed to do
About this pattern
Explanation
Used to prohibit actions. It expresses a rule or strong prohibition about something you are not allowed to do. The form uses the te-form of a verb followed by はいけない (or the polite はいけません in polite speech). It’s common in school rules, parental instructions, or warnings. When giving strict prohibitions to others, you can soften slightly with ください or ませんか, but てはいけない is the standard prohibition. In everyday conversation, both casual (～てはいけない) and polite (～てはいけません) versions appear.
Learn in context
Example sentences
You must not smoke there.
You must not run at school.
You must not make your child take this medicine.
You must not take photos at the station.
You must not tell lies.
Keep studying
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