房卡不能用。

How it works

This sentence follows a Subject-Predicate structure to indicate a problem with an object.

• 房卡 (fángkǎ): room key
• 不能 (bù néng): cannot / is not able to
• 用 (yòng): use / be used

Expressing malfunction

In Chinese, inanimate objects can be the subject of '不能用' (cannot be used) to express that they are broken, malfunctioning, or invalid. You do not need a passive voice marker.

Pronunciation of 不

The negation word '不' (bù) is a 4th tone. It only changes to a 2nd tone when followed by another 4th tone. Since '能' (néng) is a 2nd tone, '不' retains its original 4th tone pronunciation here.

Notes

Report a non-functional room key card to the front desk.