diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 0ef079f..ae103fc 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ piece-wise affine gap cost.
 * Minimap2 does not work well with Illumina short reads as of now.
 
 * Minimap2 requires SSE2 instructions to compile. It is possible to add
-  non-SSE2 support, but it would minimap2 times slower.
+  non-SSE2 support, but it would make minimap2 slower by several times.
 
 In general, minimap2 is a young project with most code written since June,
 2017. It may have bugs and room for improvements. Bug reports and suggestions
diff --git a/minimap2.1 b/minimap2.1
index 150ede2..888ff7a 100644
--- a/minimap2.1
+++ b/minimap2.1
@@ -341,7 +341,7 @@ Minimap2 does not work well with Illumina short reads as of now.
 .TP
 *
 Minimap2 requires SSE2 instructions to compile. It is possible to add
-non-SSE2 support, but it would minimap2 times slower.
+non-SSE2 support, but it would make minimap2 slower by several times.
 .SH SEE ALSO
 .PP
 miniasm(1), minimap(1), bwa(1).