60 in Spanish: How to Say Sesenta (Plus 61 to 69)

Hola! I’m Mónica, a Spanish teacher from Madrid. Here’s everything you need to say 60 in Spanish (and 61 to 69) without hesitating, plus the one mistake almost every learner makes with this number.

Numbers 60 to 69 in Spanish

Number	Spanish	Pronunciation
60	sesenta	seh-SEN-tah
61	sesenta y uno	seh-SEN-tah ee OO-noh
62	sesenta y dos	seh-SEN-tah ee dohs
63	sesenta y tres	seh-SEN-tah ee trehs
64	sesenta y cuatro	seh-SEN-tah ee KWAH-troh
65	sesenta y cinco	seh-SEN-tah ee THEEN-koh (Spain) / SEEN-koh
66	sesenta y seis	seh-SEN-tah ee says
67	sesenta y siete	seh-SEN-tah ee SYEH-teh
68	sesenta y ocho	seh-SEN-tah ee OH-choh
69	sesenta y nueve	seh-SEN-tah ee NWEH-beh

The pattern is always the same: sesenta + y + number. From 31 to 99, compound numbers are written as three separate words.

The trick to never confuse sesenta and setenta

This is the classic mistake. Sesenta (60) and setenta (70) are one letter apart, and when someone speaks fast, they sound almost the same.

The trick: look at the number they come from.

• SEIS (6) → SESENTA (60). Both have S.
• SIETE (7) → SETENTA (70). Both have T.

When you listen, focus on the second syllable: se-SEN-ta vs se-TEN-ta. And if you’re not sure (at a market, in a taxi), just ask: ¿Sesenta o setenta? Nobody in Spain will think twice.

How to use 60 in real life

English	Spanish
I’m 60 (years old).	Tengo sesenta años.
It’s 60 euros.	Son sesenta euros.
There are 60 minutes in an hour.	Una hora tiene sesenta minutos.
The sixties (the decade)	Los años sesenta
In 1965	En mil novecientos sesenta y cinco
She’s in her sixties.	Tiene sesenta y tantos años.
61 years / 61 people	Sesenta y un años / sesenta y una personas

Notice the last one: before a masculine noun, uno becomes un (sesenta y un años), and before a feminine noun it becomes una (sesenta y una personas).

And in Spanish you say your age with tener (to have), not ser. “I am 60” is tengo sesenta años, never soy sesenta.

Common mistakes with 60 in Spanish

• “Sesanta” instead of sesenta. It’s an e in the middle.
• “Sesenta uno” without the y. From 31 to 99 the y is mandatory: sesenta y uno.
• “Sesentiuno” in one word. Only 16 to 29 are written as one word (dieciséis, veintiuno…). From 31 up, it’s three words.
• “Soy sesenta” for your age. Use tengo sesenta años.

Tens in Spanish, from 10 to 100

Number	Spanish
10	diez
20	veinte
30	treinta
40	cuarenta
50	cincuenta
60	sesenta
70	setenta
80	ochenta
90	noventa
100	cien

More numbers: 25 in Spanish (veinticinco), 18 in Spanish (dieciocho) and 6 in Spanish (seis).

FAQ

How do you spell 60 in Spanish?

S-E-S-E-N-T-A: sesenta.

How do you say 600 and 6,000 in Spanish?

600 is seiscientos (seiscientas before a feminine noun) and 6,000 is seis mil.

What is “sesenta” in English?

Sesenta means sixty (60).

What is 60th in Spanish?

The ordinal is sexagésimo, but in everyday Spanish people just say the number: su sesenta cumpleaños (his 60th birthday), el aniversario número sesenta (the 60th anniversary).

Knowing the numbers is easy. Using them at speed is the hard part.

Reading sesenta y siete is one thing. Hearing it from a waiter in Madrid at full speed is another. That’s what we practise in my classes: real Spanish, real speed, real conversation. If you want to know exactly what’s stopping you from speaking, book a Spanish Speaking Roadmap call below.

— Monica Bernabe Perez

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