How to Say "Write Off" in Spanish

cancelar

/kanθeˈlaɾ/

To write off in Spanish is cancelar.

The verb cancelar is used when writing off a debt or an amount in an accounting context.

Meaning: to assign a low value to somebody or something (verb)

How does it change in a sentence?

The verb cancelar is transitive and requires a direct object, such as la deuda (the debt), to indicate what is being written off.

/kanθeˈlaɾ/

While cancelar means to write off a debt, in many Spanish-speaking countries it is also the standard word for paying a bill in full. You might hear cancelar la cuenta to mean you are settling the tab.
The word cancelar comes from the Latin cancellāre, which referred to the crisscross lattice work of a gate or screen. This lattice was used to mark off spaces in a Roman court, leading to the idea of crossing something out.
In Spanish, the concept of writing someone off as a failure is often expressed through dar por perdido, which literally means 'to consider as lost'. Cancelar is rarely used for people in a social or emotional sense.

Él tuvo que cancelar la deuda.
We had to write off the debt.
This sentence is useful for how to use cancelar regarding a debt.
Tatoeba #3222748 by hayastan, translation #319437 by CK
La compañía anuló la deuda
The company wrote off the debt
El banco dio de baja la deuda
The bank wrote off the debt
La empresa consideró incobrables las cuentas
The company wrote off the accounts as uncollectible

Lucía and Daniel are discussing a coworker's potential.

Lucía

Daniel, no deberías cancelar a ese empleado.
Daniel, you shouldn't write off that employee.
Daniel

Es que comete demasiados errores.
It's just that he makes too many mistakes.
Lucía

Solo necesita un poco de tiempo.
He just needs a little bit of time.
Daniel

Tienes razón, no lo cancelaré todavía.
You're right, I won't write him off yet.

Sources

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