Biannual vs Semiannual: Demystifying Meaning and Usage

This is because its prefix “semi” exactly pertains to half. So, if you have a “semi-annual” event, it means there is a six-month gap between the two. I’m not sure what word came first, semiannual or biannual, but, in the modern day, most people use semiannual to avoid any confusion biannual vs semiannual that arises from biannual vs. biennial. Semiannual means occurring twice a year, the adverb form is semiannually. Semiannual and Biannual are interchangeable, their definitions are the same.

Uncommon Words Related to Love

Since biannual and biennial are the real problem, writer Bryan Garner (2016) recommends that you avoid them entirely, and use every other year instead. Also, remember that “bi-annual” has a second meaning; it can also signify an event that happens every other year. However, keep in mind that you can also use “bi-annual” to refer to something that happens twice a year. In this case, you won’t imply exact timing or if an event occurs precisely six months apart.

For example, a company could have company parties semiannually, a couple could celebrate their marriage semiannually, and a family could go on vacation semiannually. Although you can often use either semi-annual or bi-annual, a good trick for remembering their differences is to look at the meanings of each prefix. You should use the term “bi-annual” to refer to an event that occurs every other year.

Memorize the Meanings

These words are so similar that it’s easy to confuse them in your writing. To avoid inadvertently misleading your readership, you should strive to write as clearly as possible. Biennial is an adjective which means occurring every two years, or every other year.

Often, you will find competitions, contests, special events, or performances using “bi-annual” rather than semi-annual. Biannual, biennial, and semiannual are adjectives that describe the frequency at which events occur. To this end, best practice is to write around the confusion introduced by these terms. Use semiannual to refer to things which happen twice a year.

Examples of Using “Bi-Annual” in a Sentence

This term is often confused with biannual due to their similarity in spelling. Semiannual is also an adjective, and it also describes something that happens twice a year. Sometimes, English has more than one word that refers to the same idea. Other times, very similar words will refer to different ideas, introducing confusion. Since semi- means “half,” semiweekly indicates that something is every half week or twice a week.

The company decides it will start paying its shareholders dividends to distribute a portion of the earnings. ABC’s management decides it will distribute a dividend of $0.50 for every share. Semiannual is simply a word that denotes an occurrence twice a year.

• Semi-annual vs. bi-annual have nearly identical meanings that it can be head-scratching to know which one to use.
• Semiannual is an adjective that describes something that is paid, reported, published, or otherwise takes place twice each year, typically once every six months.
• Semi means “half,” so in the context of semiannual it literally means “half year” or every six months.
• It is commonly used in a financial context, such as how often bonds pay interest.
• This is an important distinction to note when purchasing bonds.

How do you use the word semiannual in a sentence?

So a bondholder would receive the first interest payment in June, for example, and the second payment in December. It also decides that the dividend will be distributed on a semiannual basis; the shareholders will receive one dividend payment of $0.50 twice a year for a total dividend amount of $1 for the year. The dividends will be distributed in June and in December. There is no difference between semiannual and biannual; they are synonyms and mean the same.

At the end of the day, biannual and semiannual can be used interchangeably. However, remembering that biannual technically means “twice a year” and semiannual means “every half year” is a small but pivotal detail when you are deciding which word to use. The prefix “bi” means “two” or “twice.” So, anything that happens two times per year regardless of the time between the occurrences is biannual. Like biannual, semi-annual also means “happening twice each year.” However, semi-annual is slightly more specific than biannual.

The term can be confused with other similar-sounding terms, such as biennial, which means an event occurring every two years. It’s important to understand the differences to ensure you are understanding the financial impact of financial products, such as bonds and dividends. For example, a semiannual event could happen in January and July or June and December.

Semi means “half,” so in the context of semiannual it literally means “half year” or every six months. For the sake of clarity, it would be best to avoid all of these terms and simply write twice a year or every other year. However, writers must balance clarity with concision, making semiannual a useful choice for something that happens at that frequency. I will also show you a memory tool that you can use next time you can’t remember whether you’re describing something that is biannual or semiannual. In this article, I will clarify biannual vs. semiannual; as part of the discussion, I will include several examples of each word in a sentence to demonstrate its use in context.