てはならないmust not (formal)
The てはいけない of laws, rule books and solemn speeches: "must not". It states a ban as a rule or a principle for everyone, not as one person telling another.
a rule
No one may enter the storage room without permission.
a principle
We must not forget the mistakes of the past.
How to form it
Verb in the て-form + はならない
入って → 入ってはならない, 飲んで → 飲んではならない. Polite てはなりません. Older and sterner: てはならぬ.
- Said to
- Everyone it applies to. Face to face, people say てはいけません; to a child, ちゃだめ.
- Where you'll meet it
- Laws, regulations, contracts, exam rules. Speeches and editorials, where someone speaks for everybody. And old tales, as a solemn warning: 決して開けてはなりません, "you must never open it".
てはいけない or てはならない
You must not enter this room.
A person is telling you: a guard, a teacher.
No one may enter this room.
The rule as it is written down. Nobody is speaking to you.
Said to a child or a friend, it sounds like a commandment.
Sounds odd: 熱いから、
It is hot, so you must not touch it.
A parent says 触っちゃだめ.
In use
Drivers must not drink alcohol while on duty.
One must not blame others without checking the facts.
An accident like this must never happen again.
あってはならない, "must never happen": the phrase of apologies and editorials.
Close neighbours
ねばならないN2
The written "must": なければならない in formal dress.
Now more than ever, we must rethink the system from the ground up.
てならないN2
Without は and after a feeling, it is no ban but something you can't shake: "can't help feeling".
I can't help feeling that there is a contradiction somewhere in his explanation.
Check yourself
1A mother to her small child. Which one fits?
道路で
Choose an answer to see why.
2Which one is a ban?
Choose an answer to see why.
More sentences
Under company regulations, employees must not use customer information for personal purposes.
Personal information must not be disclosed without the patient's consent.
Whatever the circumstances, a person's dignity must not be violated.
One must not rush to a conclusion before there is enough evidence.