A semi-annual loan payment starting on 1 January 2019 would require the first payment on 1 January and on 1 July. Semiannual (sometimes written as semi-annual), also known as bi-annual, is when an event occurs twice a year, every six months. Semiannual is an adjective that describes something that is paid, reported, published, or otherwise takes place twice each year, typically once every six months. Carbon Collective is the first online investment advisor 100% focused on solving climate change. A company can issue reports on their financial statements semi-annually.

Knowing that ‘semi-’ refers to something incomplete helps remind us that a ‘Semiannual’ event occurs twice in one year. Additionally, since ‘semi-’ refers to half of something, we see how it can correlate to just half of the year. Explore similar terms that are often used synonymously but have subtly different meanings, such as transparent, translucent and opaque.

Semiannual is also an adjective, and it also describes something that happens twice a year. Biennial is an adjective which means occurring every two years, or every other year. Also, a biennial plant is one that takes two years to grow from its planting to its death. Biennial comes from the Latin biennium, which means a two year period. This team of experts helps Carbon Collective maintain the highest level of accuracy and professionalism possible. Our team of reviewers are established professionals with years of experience in areas of personal finance and climate.

Pronunciations: How to Pronounce ‘Semiannual’ vs ‘Biannual’

• Biannual, biennial, and semiannual are adjectives that describe the frequency at which events occur.
• It is rare that corporations publish financial statements only semiannually.
• Many resources on grammar and writing concede that these terms are so similar that you can use them interchangeably.
• Semi is a prefix, and American English tends to use prefixes before the base word without a space or hyphen.
• However, each word also has its own other meaning which is often what ends up sparking debate.
• It is commonly used in a financial context, such as how often bonds pay interest.

Semiannual means every six months since the prefix ­semi means every half year. This, however, is such a small distinction that it is widely accepted to use these terms interchangeably. Biannual and semiannual are often used synonymously, meaning the same definition is applied to both. So, to answer “semi-annual vs. bi-annual, which one to use,” You can effectively choose between the two words based on whether the timing of the occurrences is a relevant factor.

Remembering Biannual vs. Semiannual

However, there are some subtle differences between the context and implications of the words. While the debate may continue, you are now equipped to join the winning side in any situation. Words with overlapping meanings can be confusing, especially when pronunciations get thrown into the mix, but if you take special care to notice prefixes, you’ll do just fine. Knowing when to use the words is only half the battle; we want you to be able to say them properly too. Also, since ‘semi-’ and ‘bi-’ are such common prefixes, you’ll be able to transfer parts of these pronunciations to other new words you learn.

How ‘Namaste’ Entered The English Language

You should use the term “bi-annual” to refer to an event that occurs every other year. Often, you will find competitions, contests, special events, or performances using “bi-annual” rather than semi-annual. Let’s say you have a meeting that happens twice a year – this would be considered semiannual. If you have a meeting that happens every two years, that would be biennial. We strive to empower readers with the most factual and reliable climate finance information possible to help them make informed decisions. Our writing and editorial staff are a team of experts holding advanced financial designations and have written for most major financial media publications.

• Our team of reviewers are established professionals with years of experience in areas of personal finance and climate.
• If you have a meeting that happens every two years, that would be biennial.
• Companies that pay dividends can pay dividends on a semi-annual basis; dividends will then be paid twice a year.
• The prefix “bi” means “two” or “twice.” So, anything that happens two times per year regardless of the time between the occurrences is biannual.
• ABC’s management decides it will distribute a dividend of $0.50 for every share.
• Also, a biennial plant is one that takes two years to grow from its planting to its death.

In this article, we’ll teach you the differences between these two confusing terms and the best choice when describing something that happens twice a year. A third adjective, biennial, describes something that occurs every other year. This term is often confused with biannual due to their similarity in spelling. Semi-annual and semiannual are exactly the same and can be written either without or without the hyphen. If the company’s centennial celebration happens 100 years after its incorporation, then the biennial recruitment drive occurs once every two years.

What Is a Semiannual Financial Report?

However, writers must balance clarity with concision, making semiannual a useful choice for something that happens at that frequency. The word biennial is usually used to mean “occurring every two years,” but its similarity to biannual makes a misunderstanding possible. An example of semiannual in finance would be a bond that pays the bondholder interest semiannually. This means the bond would make an interest payment twice a year, usually six months apart. So a bondholder would receive the first interest payment in June, for example, and the second payment in December.

Because these two words are synonyms, there is no need to remember anything to distinguish the two. I’m an ESL teacher with over 7 years of experience in providing original content. I really like writing educational articles which may help others learn some aspects of English. Learn English online and practice with an English tutor on LiveXP to figure out the difference and how to use these words.

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. 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. Financial statements or reports are frequently published on a quarterly (four times per year) basis.

biannual vs. semiannual: What’s the difference?

Semiannual and Biannual are interchangeable, their definitions are the same. Since semi- means half or part, it will be easy to remember that you only need to wait part of a year before something semiannual happens again. The main difference between something that happens biannually vs. semiannually is the time between the events during the year. The prefix “bi” means “two” or “twice.” So, anything that happens two times per year regardless of the time between the occurrences is biannual.

Now, if the bond paid the yield semiannually, the bondholder would receive $200 a year. Interest compounded semiannually is important because it can result in a higher balance over time if left untouched. Companies that pay dividends can pay dividends on a semi-annual basis; dividends will then be paid twice a year. In a business environment, semiannual is something that is recurring like payments or an interest rate. Sams Corporation decides to publish their financial statement on a semi-annual basis to coincide with the dividend payments. A bond is usually described in the yield that it pays the bondholder.

Our work has been directly cited by organizations including MarketWatch, Bloomberg, Axios, TechCrunch, Forbes, NerdWallet, GreenBiz, Reuters, and many others. When we combine bi- (two) and -annual (during a year), we get biannual, or “occurring twice a year.” This is a pretty clear definition, so where does the confusion come from? If a biweekly paycheck comes once every two weeks, then it’s easy to incorrectly apply that logic to biannual and believe that you’ll get your bonus every other year. All these terms are great words to describe the frequency at which something happens, but they are only useful if you can use them biannual vs semiannual correctly.

However, each word also has its own other meaning which is often what ends up sparking debate. As mentioned above, ‘Biannual’ can also refer to something that happens every two years. In contrast, ‘Semiannual’ can refer to something that happens every half a year or over a period of six months.