How to Say “Cancel” in German

Ways to say it

The German language uses different verbs for 'cancel' depending on what is being invalidated. You use stornieren for commercial bookings or orders, absagen for appointments or social events, streichen for deleting or striking something out and abbestellen for stopping a recurring delivery or subscription.

Which one should you use?

The choice of word depends on the context: stornieren is used for canceling a booking or a commercial transaction. absagen is used for canceling an event, an appointment or a social engagement. streichen is used when the sense of canceling involves crossing something out on a list or deleting a budget item. abbestellen is used specifically for canceling a subscription or a recurring order. And canceln is a slang term often associated with internet culture.

Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?

stornieren is a formal/business term used for things like eine Reservierung stornieren (to cancel a reservation) or eine Bestellung annullieren (to cancel an order). absagen is common and used for everyday social engagements. canceln is a slang term used in youth or internet culture, and kanzellieren is considered obsolete.

Related words

Cancellation (noun): Lösch-Mitteilung, Cancel-Anweisung.

Printing: suppression on striking out of matter (noun): Undelete.

How does it change in a sentence?

absagen is a separable verb, meaning that in a main clause, the prefix moves to the end of the sentence (for example, Ich sage den Termin ab). In contrast, stornieren is an inseparable verb, so the prefix stays attached to the stem.

How do you pronounce it?

/ʃtɔʁˈniːʁən/