to cancel a reservation

Good morning friends,

I am wondering what the right way to cancel a reservation is? As in cancel a hotel reservation, restaurant reservation, or flight reservation. Do I use ακυρώσω, or is there a Greek slang word κανσελάρω; Does κανσελάρω really exist? When I google it, nothing seems to come up.

Thank you.

No, no, you can't say κανσελάρω! I've never heard it and if I ever did, it would sound too slang to say, unless said jokingly to someone you know really well. You can say «ακυρώνω», as you wrote: Γεια σας, θα ήθελα να ακυρώσω την κράτηση που έχει γίνει στο όνομα [...] για τις [ημερομηνία/ώρα]/ Τηλεφωνώ για να ακυρώσω την κράτηση αριθμός [...] etc.

If you want to alter a reservation, you can say «αλλάζω»: Θα ήθελα να αλλάξω την κράτηση [...]

...
Don't use if you want your reservation actually cancelled and you don't want people looking strangely at you.
Its use is very limited and marginal, justified only in circumstances like Palavra mentions right above or sometimes by Greek expats, although the appropriation of a foreign verb by adding the suffix -άρω has been and still is very productive in Greek.
Few people would frown on τσεκάρω (check), perhaps more would frown on φιξάρω (fix), but I think most would on μουβάρω (move) or κανσελάρω.

Code Switching, Penelope Gardner-Chloros, 2009, Cambridge University Press




A Dictionary of European Anglicisms (in 16 European Languages), Manfred Görlach, 2001, Oxford University Press


From a thread discussing one of my pet peeves, the anglicism of "παίρνω πίσω / call back":

SBE said:

...Εγώ που δεν ζω Ελλάδα δε θυμάμαι τον αγγλισμό από παλιά και νόμιζα ότι μόνο εμείς εδώ το λέμε όπως λέμε και "να κανσελάρω το μίτιγκ"

Click to expand...

SBE is referring to Greek expats in the UK.

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On the other hand :

«Η ανιψιά μου κι εγώ είμαστε πάρα πολύ στενοχωρημένες γι' αυτό που συνέβη, κύριε. Είμαστε very very... πώς το λέτε εδώ εσείς; Χολοσκασμένες.»


«Αχ, πώς τα λέτε εσείς εδώ, γιατί ξεχνάω πώς τα λέμε εμείς εκεί!»