Bi-annual or semi-annual?
bi-annual is an adjective meaning “Alternative spelling of biannual”; semi-annual is an adjective meaning “Alternative spelling of semiannual”.
What is the difference between bi-annual and semi-annual?
| bi-annual | semi-annual | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | adjective | adjective |
| Meaning | Alternative spelling of biannual | Alternative spelling of semiannual |
| Example | none recorded | none recorded |
| Pronunciation | not recorded | not recorded |
| In writing | not counted (the list counts single words) | not counted (the list counts single words) |
Sources: bi-annual and semi-annual in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of bi-annual and semi-annual
bi-annual
- 1
Alternative spelling of biannual
semi-annual
- 1
Alternative spelling of semiannual
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
How many people search bi-annual vs semi-annual?
“bi-annual vs semi-annual” is searched about 1,600 times a month on Google and 280 on Bing in the United States. Google counts close variants of a query together (“semi-annual vs bi-annual”, “bi-annual or semi-annual”).
Sources: Google Ads keyword data through DataForSEO and Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, the average month from September 2025 to August 2026.