topic Re: Bi-Weekly and Bi-Monthly...is there a Difference? in Community Chat

Bi-Weekly and Bi-Monthly...is there a Difference?

sunala — Thu, 19 Jun 2014 02:44:22 GMT

Out of curiosity, I checked this question out with Google, and came out just as confused as when I started.

Bi-Weekly can either mean twice a week, or every other week. Bi-Monthly can either mean twice a month, every other week, or every other month.

I'm totally flummoxed. What's your take on it?

Re: Bi-Weekly and Bi-Monthly...is there a Difference?

Sedonee — Thu, 19 Jun 2014 02:48:28 GMT

Bi monthly is just that, twice a month. I get paid 2 times each month on the 10th and on the 25th, or 24 paychecks per year. Bi weekly or every other week comes out to more times over a yearly period, the total of 26 paychecks per year.

Re: Bi-Weekly and Bi-Monthly...is there a Difference?

sidsmom — Thu, 19 Jun 2014 02:55:02 GMT

Where I used to work, bi-monthly was for our exempt associates...in the 1st & 15th of every month, no matter what day of the week it falls on. Our bi-weekly associates where non-exempt, ie hourly, associates paid every other Friday....the day versus the date. Hope this makes sense...!

Re: Bi-Weekly and Bi-Monthly...is there a Difference?

Clover29 — Thu, 19 Jun 2014 02:58:03 GMT

And then there's fortnightly and semi-monthly

Re: Bi-Weekly and Bi-Monthly...is there a Difference?

VanSleepy — Thu, 19 Jun 2014 02:58:28 GMT

I thought biweekly means every two weeks, and semiweekly means twice a week - or vice versa lol

Re: Bi-Weekly and Bi-Monthly...is there a Difference?

sidsmom — Thu, 19 Jun 2014 03:06:54 GMT

On 6/18/2014 Clover29 said:
And then there's fortnightly and semi-monthly

...and Days of Yore & Yesteryear.

Re: Bi-Weekly and Bi-Monthly...is there a Difference?

stilltamn8r — Thu, 19 Jun 2014 03:09:39 GMT

So I guess we can totally rule out ""semi annually""

Re: Bi-Weekly and Bi-Monthly...is there a Difference?

stilltamn8r — Thu, 19 Jun 2014 03:10:08 GMT

multi-annually?

Re: Bi-Weekly and Bi-Monthly...is there a Difference?

chickenbutt — Thu, 19 Jun 2014 03:51:20 GMT

Bi-weekly and bi-monthly will ALWAYS mean twice a week or twice a month, respectively.

Semi-weekly means every other week.

Semi-monthly means every month.

Re: Bi-Weekly and Bi-Monthly...is there a Difference?

Clover29 — Thu, 19 Jun 2014 04:03:19 GMT

On 6/18/2014 chickenbutt said:
Bi-weekly and bi-monthly will ALWAYS mean twice a week or twice a month, respectively.

Semi-weekly means every other week.

Semi-monthly means every month.

Merriam Webster disagree with you. Bi-weekly means either twice a week or every two weeks, according to MW.

Re: Bi-Weekly and Bi-Monthly...is there a Difference?

chickenbutt — Thu, 19 Jun 2014 04:08:15 GMT

On 6/18/2014 Clover29 said:
On 6/18/2014 chickenbutt said:
Bi-weekly and bi-monthly will ALWAYS mean twice a week or twice a month, respectively.

Semi-weekly means every other week.

Semi-monthly means every month.

Merriam Webster disagree with you. Bi-weekly means either twice a week or every two weeks, according to MW.

Ha! Oh well, that's ok. They seem to be dumbing down the language more and more. Once they put words like 'aint' in the dictionary (well, not necessarily MW but dictionaries in general) they lost some credibility.

The way I defined it is the way it used to be, anyway.

Oh crud! I just noticed that I typo'd that definition. I meant to say that semi-monthly means every OTHER month. d'oh! Maybe I should get some new eyeballs too.

Re: Bi-Weekly and Bi-Monthly...is there a Difference?

VanSleepy — Thu, 19 Jun 2014 04:13:09 GMT

And MW says semiweekly means twice a week, not every two weeks...hence all the confusion lol

Re: Bi-Weekly and Bi-Monthly...is there a Difference?

JeanLouiseFinch — Thu, 19 Jun 2014 04:30:32 GMT

Before computerized payroll was available, my mom had a business that sold tax deduction charts for payroll. They came in Weekly, Bi-Weekly, Semi-Monthly, and Monthly

Weekly = paid on the same day every week
Bi-Weekly = paid every two weeks (ie. 2nd and 4th Fridays)
Semi-Monthly = paid twice a month (ie. the 15th and 30th) no matter the actual day of the week
Monthly = paid on the same date of the month, no matter the day.

Re: Bi-Weekly and Bi-Monthly...is there a Difference?

sunala — Thu, 19 Jun 2014 04:57:58 GMT

See? It sounds like you're all confused

At least I'm not the only one who still has no clue what any of those terms means

Re: Bi-Weekly and Bi-Monthly...is there a Difference?

celeste27 — Thu, 19 Jun 2014 06:01:40 GMT

Semi always means half. Therefore, semi-weekly always means twice a week, semi-monthly always means twice a month, etc. The confusion comes up with bi---which can mean either twice a week or every 2 weeks, etc. So if something is bi, you have to ask .

Re: Bi-Weekly and Bi-Monthly...is there a Difference?

brewhaha — Thu, 19 Jun 2014 08:11:04 GMT

I'm straight every other week.

Re: Bi-Weekly and Bi-Monthly...is there a Difference?

insomniac — Thu, 19 Jun 2014 11:29:05 GMT

Bi-weekly: every other week.

Bi-monthly: every other month.

Re: Bi-Weekly and Bi-Monthly...is there a Difference?

I like celery — Thu, 19 Jun 2014 17:09:45 GMT

On 6/18/2014 JeanLouiseFinch said:
Before computerized payroll was available, my mom had a business that sold tax deduction charts for payroll. They came in Weekly, Bi-Weekly, Semi-Monthly, and Monthly

Weekly = paid on the same day every week
Bi-Weekly = paid every two weeks (ie. 2nd and 4th Fridays)
Semi-Monthly = paid twice a month (ie. the 15th and 30th) no matter the actual day of the week
Monthly = paid on the same date of the month, no matter the day.

^^ That's how I've always understood it to be.

Re: Bi-Weekly and Bi-Monthly...is there a Difference?

jewelfool — Thu, 19 Jun 2014 18:44:58 GMT

I am bi-weekly and I get paid every other Friday. Sometimes, depending on how the weeks fall, that means an extra check one month a year.