Expresses the speaker's inability to continue doing an action or remain in a certain state due to impatience, urgency, or psychological limits. It implies that a limit has been reached and one cannot afford or bear to keep going.
Verb [て-form] + はいられないPrimary
Verb [て-form] + いられない
This means you cannot keep doing something. You have reached your limit. You must stop or change what you are doing.
締め切りが明日だから、今夜はのんびり寝てはいられない。
The deadline is tomorrow, so I can't afford to have a relaxing sleep tonight.
こんなひどい映画、最後まで見てはいられなかった。
This movie was so awful, I couldn't stand to watch it until the end.
もう待ってはいられないと、彼女は一人で先に行ってしまった。
Deciding she couldn't wait any longer, she went on ahead by herself.
やることが多すぎて、テレビなんか見ていられないよ。
I have too much to do, I can't be sitting around watching TV.
会社の危機を前にして、我々はただ手をこまねいてはいられない。
Faced with a corporate crisis, we cannot just stand by idly.
This phrase shows you feel you cannot keep doing something. It is like a breaking point in your mind. You are too impatient or frustrated to continue. You will do something different very soon.
This grammar is about not being able to keep doing something. It is different from '〜に堪えない'. That phrase is for things too sad to see. It is also different from '見るに見かねる'. That phrase means you cannot watch someone struggle without helping. It is also different from '（を）禁じ得ない'. That phrase is for feelings you cannot stop.
Watch out: Do not mix up "~te wa irarenai" and "~te wa ikenai". "~te wa ikenai" means you must not do something. "~te wa irarenai" means you cannot keep doing something. For example, "You must not play during work" is "Shigoto-chuu ni asonde wa ikenai". But "I'm too busy, I can't be playing" is "Isogashikute asonde wa irarenai".
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