I had a student moaning at me because I insisted he say *twice* and not "two times". And he asked "But why?" to which I replied, "Because that's how you say it!"

However on reflection, his question was a valid one. 

In Latin there doesn't appear to be any discernible pattern 

>  - once is *semel*  
>  - twice is *bis*  
>  - thrice is *ter*  
>  - four times is *quater*  
>  - five times is *quinquies*   

but in German the suffix **-mal** is used,

>  - once is *einmal*  
>  - twice is *zweimal*  
>  - thrice is *dreimal*  
>  - four times is *viermal*   



In French the term **fois** is repeated

>  - once is *une fois*  
>  - twice is *deux fois*  
>  - thrice is *trois fois*  
>  - four times is *quatre fois*     


In Italian the noun **volta** (s) **volte** (p) is used  
 
>  - once is *una volta*  
>  - twice is *due volte*  
>  - thrice is *tre volte*  
>  - four times is *quattro volte*

In Spanish **veces** is repeated

>  - once is *una vez*  
>  - twice is *dos veces*  
>  - thrice is *tres veces*  
>  - four times is *cuatro veces*

And all the following languages follow the same pattern.  In Danish it's **gange**; in Norwegian **ganger**; in Polish **raz** and **razy**; Portuguese has **vez** and **vezes**; and Welsh uses **waith** and **gwaith**.   

 - So why does the English language have three different words for "one time", "two times" and "three times"? 
 - Beyond a shadow of a doubt the English *thrice* is doomed to exile if not extinction, is *twice* suffering the same fate? For instance, many Italian learners do say "two times"—it makes more sense.    


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Related Questions:   
[Why has the word “thrice” fallen out of common usage?][1]    
[Twice vs Two Times][2]         
[Is there a word for four times as much, analogous to once, twice, and thrice?][3]


  [1]: http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/146043/why-has-the-word-thrice-fallen-out-of-common-usage?rq=1
  [2]: http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/171833/twice-vs-two-times?lq=1
  [3]: http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/6798/is-there-a-word-for-four-times-as-much-analogous-to-once-twice-and-thrice