日本語道場

Nihongo Dojo — N3 → N2

Grammar

N3

~てはならない

~te wa naranai

must not

When to use it

Use ~てはならない for absolute prohibitions in written or formal registers — contracts, company rules, compliance notices, policy documents, and speeches. It is markedly stiffer than ~てはいけない and carries the tone of a rule imposed from above rather than a personal warning, so it rarely appears in casual conversation. In email and meetings it surfaces mostly when quoting regulations or stating principles (「~てはなりません」 in polite speech).

Formation

  • Verbs: て-form + はならない → 持ち出す → 持ち出してはならない / 忘れる → 忘れてはならない (voiced て → で: 読んでならない)
  • い-adjectives: ~くて + はならない → 不十分でなくてはならない is obligation; for prohibition use 〜くてはならない sparingly (曖昧であってはならない is far more common)
  • な-adjectives: 〜で + あってはならない → 不明確であってはならない
  • Nouns: 〜で + あってはならない → 例外であってはならない
  • Negative (obligation reading): 〜なくてはならない = "must do"; keep distinct from the prohibition above
  • Politeness: 〜てはなりません (formal spoken); 〜ちゃならない is a rough spoken contraction

Examples

  • Customer information must not be taken outside the company.

  • The contents of this contract must not be disclosed to third parties.

  • Nothing recorded in the minutes may differ from the facts.

  • We must not damage the other side's trust during price negotiations.

  • A delay in reporting is something that must never happen.