You're writing a check. Or maybe you're drafting a formal wedding invitation. Suddenly, you freeze. Does "sixty-seven" have a dash in the middle, or is it two separate words? It feels like one of those things we should’ve mastered in third grade, right? Honestly, most people just wing it and hope for the best.
But here is the thing: how to spell 67 isn't just about letters; it's about the rigid, sometimes annoying rules of English grammar that govern every number from twenty-one to ninety-nine.
The short answer is sixty-seven. Always with a hyphen. No exceptions.
If you leave that little dash out, you aren't just making a typo; technically, you’re breaking a rule that has been standard in the Chicago Manual of Style and the AP Stylebook for decades. It seems small. It's just a tiny line. Yet, in the world of professional writing and legal documentation, that hyphen is the difference between looking polished and looking like you slept through primary school.
The Mechanics of Spelling Sixty-Seven
English is weird. We have specific names for numbers one through twelve, then we hit the "teens," and then we transition into the compound decades. Once you hit twenty, the rules change.
When you are figuring out how to spell 67, you have to look at the structure of compound numbers. A compound number is basically any number made up of two words. In English, we use a hyphen to join the tens digit (sixty) with the ones digit (seven). This applies to everything in that range. Sixty-one, sixty-two, sixty-three... you get the point.
Why do we do this? It's about clarity.
In some contexts, especially in technical or scientific writing, words can get bunched together. The hyphen acts as a visual "glue." It tells the reader’s brain that these two words represent a single numerical value. It’s a signal. "Hey, don't read these as two separate ideas; they are one unit."
When Do You Use Words Instead of Numerals?
This is where people get tripped up. Most of us just write "67" because it’s faster. But "67" and "sixty-seven" aren't always interchangeable.
If you are writing a news article following AP style, the rule is generally to spell out numbers one through nine and use numerals for 10 and up. In that specific case, you’d just write 67. Easy.
✨ Don't miss: How to Sign Someone Up for Scientology: What Actually Happens and What You Need to Know
But!
If you are starting a sentence, the rules flip. You can never start a sentence with a numeral. Ever.
- Wrong: 67 people attended the gala.
- Right: Sixty-seven people attended the gala.
If you find yourself starting a sentence with a big, clunky number, sometimes it’s better to just rephrase the whole thing. "A total of 67 people attended..." feels a bit more natural than spelling out a long string of words, though for a number like sixty-seven, it’s short enough to work fine.
Common Mistakes and Why They Happen
People mess this up because our brains are lazy. We see "sixty" and we see "seven" as two distinct concepts.
In informal texting, nobody cares. If you text your friend "I owe you sixty seven dollars," they aren't going to send back a grammar correction (unless they are that friend). But in professional environments—think real estate contracts, bank checks, or academic essays—the hyphen is mandatory.
Another common error is capitalization. Unless it's at the start of a sentence or part of a title, "sixty-seven" should stay lowercase.
- Lower case: There were sixty-seven apples in the crate.
- Title case: Chapter Sixty-Seven: The End.
The "And" Trap
A lot of people want to say "sixty and seven." Don't.
In mathematics and formal English, the word "and" is reserved for decimal points. If you say "sixty and seven," a literal-minded mathematician might wonder if you mean $60.7$ (though they’d probably just think you’re being wordy). In the US, we skip the "and" for whole numbers. In British English, they use "and" for numbers over 100 (one hundred and sixty-seven), but for 67 itself, they still stick to the basic hyphenated version.
Beyond the Basics: 67 in Different Contexts
Spelling the number is one thing, but understanding its "personality" is another. Numbers have a weird way of popping up in specific niches.
🔗 Read more: Wire brush for cleaning: What most people get wrong about choosing the right bristles
In the world of science, 67 is the atomic number of Holmium. It’s a rare earth element. If you’re a chemist writing a paper on the lanthanide series, you might find yourself typing "sixty-seven" more often than the average person.
In technology, particularly in networking, Port 67 is used for the Bootstrap Protocol (BOOTP) and DHCP. If you’re a systems admin, 67 is a number you see in logs and configurations daily. You probably aren't spelling it out there—you're using the digits—but it's a reminder of how ubiquitous the number is.
Then there is the "sixty-seven" of history. The year 1967 was the "Summer of Love." When historians write about this era, they often spell out the decades to give the text a more formal, narrative feel. "The summer of sixty-seven" sounds like a song lyric or a memory; "the summer of '67" sounds like a data point.
A Quick Cheat Sheet for Number Spelling
If you’re ever in doubt about numbers around the 67 mark, remember this progression:
- Sixty (No hyphen)
- Sixty-one (Hyphen)
- Sixty-seven (Hyphen)
- Seventy (No hyphen)
Basically, if it’s a "round" ten (20, 30, 40, 50, 60), it stands alone. If it has a tail (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9), it needs the dash.
The Psychology of the Number 67
Is there a reason we care about how to spell 67?
Numbers aren't just quantities. They are identifiers. In numerology, 67 is often associated with a mix of the stability of 6 and the introspection or spiritual seeking of 7. People who follow these paths might look at the spelling of the number as a way to "honor" the vibration. Whether you believe in that or not, it shows that even a simple integer has layers.
Most of us, though, just want to make sure we don't look silly on a birthday card.
Imagine writing: "Happy Sixty Seventh Birthday!"
It looks okay at first glance. But it’s actually wrong twice. It should be "Sixty-seventh" (hyphenated) and "birthday" shouldn't be capitalized unless it's part of a formal title.
💡 You might also like: Images of Thanksgiving Holiday: What Most People Get Wrong
Details matter.
Actionable Steps for Perfect Number Spelling
If you want to make sure you never mess this up again, here is how to handle it.
First, check your style guide. If you’re writing for a blog, a school paper, or a business report, find out if they prefer AP or Chicago style. Most modern web content leans toward AP, which means you’ll use the numeral 67 unless it’s the very first word in the sentence.
Second, if you do have to spell it out, visualize the hyphen as a bridge. You cannot get from the "sixty" side to the "seven" side without crossing that bridge.
Third, use a spellchecker, but don't trust it blindly. Most basic spellcheckers won't flag "sixty seven" as an error because both words are spelled correctly individually. They often miss the grammar of the missing hyphen. You have to be the final editor.
Finally, keep it simple. If you are struggling with a sentence like "Sixty-seven thousand four hundred and twenty-two," just use the numerals. Your readers will thank you. Numerals are easier to scan and take up less "brain power" to process.
Summary of the Golden Rule:
When writing how to spell 67, use a hyphen to connect "sixty" and "seven" (sixty-seven). Only capitalize it if it starts a sentence. Avoid using "and" between the two words.
Now, go forth and write those checks, invitations, and essays with the confidence of someone who actually knows where the dashes go. It’s a small victory, but in a world of "u r" and "lol," being able to spell out a number correctly is a genuine flex.