In this example, if a bond pays semiannually, the bondholder would receive a payment in January or July, or June and December. Financial statements or reports are frequently published on a quarterly (four times per year) basis. It is rare that corporations publish financial statements only semiannually. They do, however, publish an annual report, which per the definition, occurs once every year.
Biannual vs. Semiannual – What’s the Difference?
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.
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 biannual vs semiannual 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.
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.
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.
Are Biannual and Semiannual Synonymous or Separate?
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.
Since the prefix semi- refers to half or part or something, you can use it to remind yourself that something that is semiannual only goes part of a year before happening again. Biannual is an adjective that specifies the frequency of occurrence. Explore similar terms that are often used synonymously but have subtly different meanings, such as transparent, translucent and opaque. Then check out words that look similar and have the same meaning but are used slightly differently, like preventive and preventative. A third adjective, biennial, describes something that occurs every other year.
Examples of Using “Bi-Annual” in a Sentence
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.
More Words with Remarkable Origins
- Since biannual and biennial are the real problem, writer Bryan Garner (2016) recommends that you avoid them entirely, and use every other year instead.
- They do, however, publish an annual report, which per the definition, occurs once every year.
- 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.
- Use semiannual to refer to things which happen twice a year.
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 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.
Many resources on grammar and writing concede that these terms are so similar that you can use them interchangeably. However, there are some subtle differences between the context and implications of the words. Biannual and semiannual are often used synonymously, meaning the same definition is applied to both. 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.
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.
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.