Oh No! Canceling Your Hotel Reservation 🏨

Introduction

Annyeonghaseyo! (안녕하세요!) Welcome back to Daily Hangul, your best friend for mastering Korean! 👋✨

Life is like a K-Drama—full of plot twists! Sometimes, your travel plans change. Maybe you missed your flight, or perhaps you decided to visit a different city to chase the filming location of your favorite idol! 🎬✈️

Whatever the reason, canceling a hotel reservation can be stressful, especially in a foreign language. But don’t worry! Today, we will learn how to handle this situation smoothly and politely. By the end of this lesson, you’ll be able to cancel a booking like a pro without any awkward silence. Let’s dive in! 💪

Core Expressions

Here are the 3 most important phrases you need to know when canceling a booking.

1. I want to cancel my reservation.

• Korean: 예약을 취소하고 싶어요.
• Pronunciation: [Yeyageul chwisohago sipeoyo]
• Meaning: I want to cancel my reservation.
• Detail: This is the standard polite way to express your intent.
  • Yeyak (예약) means “reservation.”
  • Chwiso (취소) means “cancellation.”
  • ~hago sipeoyo (~하고 싶어요) is a grammar pattern meaning “I want to do…”
• 💡 Pronunciation Tip: When saying 예약을 (Yeyageul), the ‘k’ sound in ‘yak’ moves to the next syllable, so it sounds like [Ye-ya-geul]. This makes your speech flow much smoother!

2. Is there a cancellation fee?

• Korean: 취소 수수료가 있나요?
• Pronunciation: [Chwiso susuryoga innayo?]
• Meaning: Is there a cancellation fee?
• Detail: This is crucial to ask before you finalize the cancellation!
  • Susuryo (수수료) means “fee” or “commission.”
  • Innayo? (있나요?) is a polite way to ask “Is there…?”
• 💡 Pronunciation Tip: Even though 있나요 is written with ‘ss’ (ㅆ), when followed by ‘n’, it sounds like an ‘n’. So, pronounce it as [in-na-yo], not [it-na-yo].

3. Can I get a refund?

• Korean: 환불받을 수 있나요?
• Pronunciation: [Hwanbul-badeul su innayo?]
• Meaning: Can I get a refund?
• Detail: If you already paid, you need your money back!
  • Hwanbul (환불) means “refund.”
  • Badeul su innayo? (받을 수 있나요?) means “Can I receive…?”
• 💡 Pronunciation Tip: Make sure to pronounce the ㄹ (l) in Hwanbul clearly but softly. It shouldn’t sound like a hard English ‘R’.

Real-life Dialogue

Let’s see how these expressions work in a real phone call scenario between a Guest (A) and Hotel Staff (B).

Situation: You are calling the hotel front desk to cancel your room.

A (Guest): 여보세요, 예약을 취소하고 싶어요.

[Yeoboseyo, yeyageul chwisohago sipeoyo.]
(Hello, I want to cancel my reservation.)

B (Staff): 네, 성함이 어떻게 되세요?

[Ne, seonghami eotteoke doeseyo?]
(Yes, may I ask your name?)

A (Guest): 제니입니다. 혹시 취소 수수료가 있나요?

[Jennie-imnida. Hoksi chwiso susuryoga innayo?]
(It’s Jennie. By any chance, is there a cancellation fee?)

B (Staff): 아니요, 무료입니다. 취소해 드렸습니다.

[Aniyo, muryo-imnida. Chwisohae deuryeotseumnida.]
(No, it’s free. I have canceled it for you.)

A (Guest): 감사합니다!

[Gamsahamnida!]
(Thank you!)

Culture Tip: The “No-Show” Etiquette 🇰🇷

In Korea, being considerate is very important. Even if you don’t speak perfect Korean, simply calling to cancel instead of just not showing up (a “No-Show”) is highly appreciated.

Also, if you are canceling at the last minute because of a personal reason, adding “죄송합니다” (Joesonghamnida – I’m sorry) at the beginning of your sentence makes you sound very polite and well-mannered. Koreans value this “emotional cushion” in conversation! 🥰

Conclusion & Quiz

Great job today! You are now ready to handle changes in your travel plans without panic. Remember, plans change, but your Korean skills are getting better every day! 🌟

Let’s check what you learned:

Quiz 1. Fill in the blank:
To say “I want to cancel,” you say: “__________-hago sipeoyo.”

Quiz 2. True or False:
환불 (Hwanbul) means “Reservation.”

Quiz 3. Choose the correct word:
“Fee” in Korean is [ Yeyak / Susuryo ].

See you in the next lesson! Annyeong! 👋

Answers:
1. Chwiso (취소)
2. False (It means Refund. Reservation is Yeyak.)
3. Susuryo