Is the word ‘twice’ disappearing from modern English?
Is it being replaced by the term ‘two times’?
They are exact synonyms—so using one or the other does not change the meaning.
I have encountered one website that claims there is a difference—that ‘twice’ always refers to succession while ‘two times’ refers to something which is countable.
That’s completely idiotic.
There is no such distinction.
They mean exactly and precisely the same thing.
‘Twice’ is the older of the two expressions, coming from the days when the Anglo-Saxons spoke Old English more than a thousand years ago.
‘Two times’ is recorded from 1450 and comes from the cardinal number ‘two’ (which was rather more like ‘twain’ in Old English).
Another claim being made these days is that ‘twice’ is seen as a formal word, and is used more often in writing, while ‘two times’ is more informal and is likely to found in conversation.
Perhaps.
But I’m sure this was not always the case.
For some reason exact words such as ‘twice’ seem inclined to fade in our modern world and be replaced by what strike me as more childish versions, such as ‘two times.’
Young children will understand, and say, ‘two times’ some years before they learn the word ‘twice’ (if they ever do).
So, to my (ancient) ears ‘two times’ sounds infantile, while ‘twice’ sounds adult.
But things do seem to be changing—as the frequency of use figures tell us.
The form ‘two times’ appears around one thousand times per million words in English, while ‘twice’ appears on average around thirty times per million words.
The related word ‘thrice’ has suffered even more from this steady dumbing down of our society.
‘Thrice’ now only appears around once per million words.
But I am convinced ‘twice’ was more common back in our grandparents’ and great-grandparents’ day.
So, are you going to say, ‘I walk to the park twice a day’ or ‘I walk to the park two times a day’?
In other words, are going to sound literate?
Or illiterate?
The latest episode of the podcast 'Words with Kel Richards' is now available (with the dateline 2 April 2026) -- either by scrolling further down this homepage or from wherever you usually get your podcasts.
TO SIGN UP FOR THE FREE DAILY NEWSLETTER SCROLL FURTHER DOWN THIS PAGE >>>>>>
The latest issue of Australian Geographic is now at newsagents -- with a big beaked kookaburra on the front cover, and inside my two small columns on 'Ozwords' and 'Placenames.'
BOOKS:
* My latest book is Sherlock Holmes: 5-Minute Mysteries -- containing 50 new stories I have written about the great detective. You can find it on Amazon. Just go to Amazon and type in Sherlock Holmes: 5-Minute Mysteries in the search panel. Or use this link: h Amazon.com.au : Sherlock Holmes 5-Minute Mysteries Kel Richards
* My book "Defending the Gospel" is now in a second, fully revised, edition. You can find it here: Defending the Gospel – matthiasmedia.com.au
* If you're looking for my recent book "Flash Jim" you'll find it here -- Flash Jim, The astonis
hing story of the convict fraudster who wrote Australia's first dictionary by Kel Richards | 9781460759769 | Booktopia
* You can find all Kel's books currently in print here -- Booktopia Search Results for 'kel richards'. We sell books, hardback, paperback, audio, CDs.
* And also here -- Amazon.com.au : Kel Richards
* And you'll find more here -- Search: 4 results found for "Kel Richards" – matthiasmedia.com.au
* Many of Kel's out of print books can be found at ABE Books -- Kel Richards - AbeBooks explaining words explain the term
BY THE WAY...
If you'd like to see my A-Z list of Aussie slang, you'll find it here in the Australian Geographic website -- A-Z list of Aussie slang. Here’s the link: The A-Z of Aussie slang - Australian Geographic
The liveliest part of this website is usually the Q and A page -- be sure to check it out from time to time.
