Should not do with 〜てはいけない
Grammar: Prohibition » 〜てはいけない
Saying one should not perform an action is conveyed by a verb in its て form, the particle は, and the verb いけない (“wrong”, “not good”, “must not do”). Although this does not strictly prohibit an action, it gives a sense of it being wrong to do the action.
Related Grammar
- Must not do with 〜てはだめだ
- Used to prohibit (rather than simply discourage) an action.
- Must not do with 〜べからず
- An old-fashioned way to strongly forbid an action.
Examples
Don't underestimate bread-baking with 〜てはいけない
Cocoa tells her friends they mustn't underestimate baking bread. Rather than prohibiting them, this gives the sense that it would be wrong to underestimate the process of baking bread.
- ココア:
- 「みんな パン作りをなめちゃいけないよ！」
Note that ちゃ is a casual spoken variation of ては.