길이 감각 테스트: 7cm 남겨줘

What does “남겨 줘” mean in Korean?

남기다 means to leave something behind so that it remains, and 남겨 줘 asks someone to leave it for you: 7cm만 남겨 줘 is “leave just 7 cm.” The same verb covers leftover food (음식을 남기다), a voicemail (메시지를 남기다) and a comment online (댓글을 남기다), so it turns up far beyond a measuring game.

Its partner is 남다, “to remain,” which has no object: 시간이 남았어 (“there’s time left”). Add -기- and it becomes something you do to an object: 밥을 남겼어 (“I left some rice”). The -만 after 7cm means “only,” which is what makes the challenge tricky. In this length-guessing game the request is 오빠, 7cm만 남겨 줘, “leave me only 7 cm.”