Cancelar vs pagar!

Question

I'm amazed I've actually found a question not already asked and answered somewhere else in this forum! (Though I'll probably be proven wrong in the comments section)

Anyway... I am in Colombia and am hearing cancelar all the time for to pay, which I think they do in Venezuela too. My question is; in these countries what is the best way to say "to cancel"? E.g. we have to cancel the last night of our booking.

Estoy asombrado que realemente he encontrado una pregunta que no ya esta respuesto en los paginas de spanishdict (aunque probablement será probado que soy equivocado por los comentarios)

De todo modo.. estoy en colombia y siempre oigo cancelar usado en lugar de to pay, lo que pienso hacen los Venezuelenos tambien. Mi pregunta es; en estos paises, que es el meyor manera de decir "cancel"? Por ejemplo. Tenemos que ________ la ultima noche de nuestra reserva.

This is used in a lot of countries. The logic is if you pay something you've "cancelled" it. Where I live it's "pagar" We're totally Mexican in California. - Daniela2041, Aug 3, 2017

I have no idea of how you would "cancel" something in those places. In the Mexican culture, "cancelar" has the same meaning as in English. - Daniela2041, Aug 3, 2017

They use cancelar in Costa Rica like this as well. Threw me for a complete loop. - rodneyp, Aug 3, 2017

Answer 1

Interesting question.

You can use anular as an alternative, or in order to avoid the problem altogether, I might say something like:

Quiero cambiar mi reservación. No vamos a quedarnos la noche de.....

And from there everything should fall into place.

Thanks! That is really what I'm looking for, just a little creative thinking to get around the confusion :) - ssha345, Aug 3, 2017

Answer 2

Interesting question sash.

Hmm, does that mean you are in a bar and want to pay a beer and you say:

¡quiero cancelar, por favor!

¿Puedo cancelar mi cuenta?

wow, that would sound really odd over here in Spain.

Could you give a couple of examples?

thanks

Yes! Both those examples are used here. Hay que cancelar cuando hagas checkin - ssha345, Aug 3, 2017

Also I have heard it used reflexively: me cancelamos ahora? Meaning can you pay now? - ssha345, Aug 3, 2017

Probably me cancela. - polenta1, Aug 3, 2017

could be.. I didn't ask for clarification that time as I was used to hearing cancelar by then :) - ssha345, Aug 3, 2017

Answer 3

I don't know about Colombia and Venezuela. In my country we can use the verb "cancelar" in at least two ways.

One way is with the meaning it has in English: to call off.
Voy a cancelar la cita.
I'm going to call off the appointment.
This first meaning has nothing to do with paying.

The second meaning has a lot to do with paying

When I pay something I can use pagar.

Voy a pagar la segunda cuota de mi deuda.
I'm going to pay the second instalment of my debt.

When you want to pay all your debt so you don't owe anything else

You can say: Voy a pagar la última cuota de mi deuda. (pay the last instalment)
or
Voy a cancelar mi deuda. (emphasis it's the last instalment)

So cancelar is to pay everything you owe.

Here are the two meaning I told you about, taken from the DRAE (official Spanish dictionary)

1. tr. Anular una cita, un billete, una cuenta bancaria.
2. tr. Pagar o saldar una deuda.

Interesting! That distinction between paying a part and a whole of the owed amount was not something I had noticed yet (not often one would pay part of a meal/accomodation etc so not too common when travelling!) - ssha345, Aug 3, 2017

But I do still struggle to make it clear when i really want to cancel something! - ssha345, Aug 3, 2017

Rodney gave you a good trick not to be misunderstood if in some country it is used only as "pagar". - polenta1, Aug 3, 2017

Answer 4

Hello!

This link might be pertinent to this subject. cancelar = pagar

Hope this helps.

Regards!

Good link, N K M! - Daniela2041, Aug 3, 2017

¡Gracias! - NKM1974, Aug 3, 2017

Answer 5

Also I have heard it used reflexively: me cancelan ahora? Meaning can you pay now? -

Wow, if I had seen this without your explanation I would never ever had thought it meant to pay. I am stunned!

Very interesting indeed, thank your for this question