sessentavssetentaTell them apart

Which to use

“sessenta” and “setenta” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#7,696
“sessenta” frequency rank
#8,540
“setenta” frequency rank
16236
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sessenta setenta
Definition número equivalente a seis dezenas; cardinalidade de um conjunto que contenha seis dezenas de elementos distintos; representado pelo símbolo 60 (algarismos arábicos) ou LX (algarismos romanos) número equivalente a sete dezenas; cardinalidade de um conjunto que contenha sete dezenas de elementos distintos; representado pelo símbolo 70 (algarismos arábicos) ou LXX (algarismos romanos)

Where the eye mixes sessenta and setenta

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. sessenta runs 8 letters (CVCCVCCV) against setenta's 7 (CVCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
sessenta
7 ch
setenta

Look-alike desk: sessenta vs setenta

A purely visual mix-up. sessenta (/sɨ.ˈsẽ.tɐ/) and setenta (/sɨ.ˈtẽ.tɐ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16236, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sessenta is recorded at frequency rank #7,696, classified as anadj, pronounced /sɨ.ˈsẽ.tɐ/. setenta is at rank #8,540, tagged as anadj, pronounced /sɨ.ˈtẽ.tɐ/.

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 16236, this pair ranks #55,359 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of sessenta vs setenta

Shared letters: aenst. Private to "sessenta": -. Private to "setenta": -.

"sessenta" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV  ·  "setenta" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sessenta ← esssenta · sesenta · sesesnta · sessenat · sessennta · sessentta · sessetna · sessneta
  • setenta ← estenta · seetnta · setenat · setennta · setentta · setetna · setneta · settenta

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "sessenta" and "setenta" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (/sɨ.ˈsẽ.tɐ/ versus /sɨ.ˈtẽ.tɐ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "sessenta" or "setenta"?
"sessenta" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,696 in our Portuguese list, against #8,540 for "setenta". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "sessenta" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "setenta" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #55,359 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "sessenta" and "setenta" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "serenata vs setenta". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #55,359 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list