Structure
Verb[て]+ は + いけない
Details
- Verb 
- Auxiliary Verb 
- Formal 
About てはいけない
てはいけない is used in Japanese to express that (A) 'cannot', or 'must not' be done. It is the combination of a verb in て form, the は particle, and the negative potential form of 行く (to be able to go). In this way, it literally means '(A) cannot/is not able to go'.
Although は can be dropped from many phrases and expressions, the は in this particular grammar point is usually not. This is because いけない would then become the second action in a sequence of events (the usual function of て form). However, to make this more casual, ては is often changed to ちゃ (ては becomes ちゃ), or じゃ (では becomes じゃ), as this is easier to say.
Caution
Apart from いけない; ならない and だめ are also frequently used to get across the same meaning. However, they are used in different situations.
いけない - Fairly neutral. Used in both spoken and written language.
ならない - Fairly formal. Used mostly in written language.
だめ - Very casual. Used almost exclusively in spoken language.
Antonyms
Related
Examples
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- そこに入ってはいけない。 - You must not go in there. 
- クジラを食べてはいけない。 - We must not eat whale. 
- このビルに入ってはいけない。 - You must not go into this building. 
- 晩ごはんの前に、お菓子を食べてはいけない。 - You must not eat candy before dinner. 
- この池で泳いではいけません。 - You must not swim in this pond. 
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- Online- "HAVE TO", "NEED TO" "SHOULD HAVE", "I WISH...HADN'T" in Japanese- Japanese Ammo [video] 
 
- Offline- [DBJG] A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar- Page 528 
- Genki I- Page 120 
- Genki I 2nd Edition- Page 152 
- Marugoto Elementary 2 (A2) Rikai- Page 48 
- Tae Kim's Japanese Grammar Guide- Page 140 
- みんなの日本語 I- Page 98 [CH 15] 
 
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てはいけない – Grammar Discussion
Most Recent Replies (21 in total)
 - notasas - The bunpro description states this contains “negative potential form of 行く”, however I’ve just encountered this: 
 - Alphaz - In sentence 1 of this point - そこに入ってはいけない。 
 I keep failing by inputting ては instead of っては. Could someone explain me, why is it っては in this specific sentence? Is this some conjugation rule of previous grammar point, and if so then could you guide me towards it, so I can read about it a bit more?
 - IcyIceBear - When it says verb(て) it’s looking for the て form of the verb. 入る is a godan verb, not ichidan. So it’s て form is 入って - This point includes the て forms for all endings 
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