힌트를 듣고 사과를 맞혀 보세요

What’s the difference between “맞히다” and “맞추다” in Korean?

This guessing game’s title says “사과를 맞혀 보세요” — “try to guess the apple” — using 맞히다, the technically correct verb for getting an answer right. But the host herself says “정답을 맞추면 돼요,” reaching for the far more common 맞추다 instead. 맞히다 is the causative of 맞다 (“to be correct”), literally “to make right” — hitting a target or a correct answer. 맞추다 properly means “to match” two things against each other, but everyday Korean blurs the line constantly.

Korea’s own language authority is blunt about it: “정답을 맞히는 것이 올바른 표현” — “guessing the right answer” is properly 맞히다, not 맞추다. You’ll still hear “정답 맞추기” everywhere, from game shows to casual guessing games like this one, because the mix-up is now closer to the norm than the exception — a rare case where “wrong” Korean is what most native speakers actually say.