殴ります（なぐります、nagurimasu）
- to punch

殴ります (なぐります) means "to hit," "to strike," "to beat," or "to punch." It implies a physical action of hitting someone or something with force. It typically suggests an act of violence or aggression. It can also imply a swift and forceful action, although its core meaning revolves around physical contact.

⚫︎彼は私を殴ります。 Translation: He hits me. ⚫︎喧嘩で相手を殴りました。 Translation: I hit my opponent in the fight. ⚫︎彼は壁を殴りました。 Translation: He punched the wall.

This verb is used in situations where someone is physically hitting another person or object. It's generally not used in polite conversations, as it implies violence. The context is crucial; it's essential to understand the situation to know why someone is 殴ります. Avoid using this word lightly. Consider the tone of the conversation and the level of formality.

The base form of the verb is 殴る (なぐる), and 殴ります is the polite, present/future tense form. ⚫︎Hiragana: なぐります ⚫︎Kanji: 殴ります The okurigana (送りがな, the hiragana after the kanji) is "ります". There are no other standard ways of writing this word.

⚫︎叩く (たたく) - to hit, to slap, to beat (a softer or less forceful hit) ⚫︎打つ (うつ) - to hit, to strike (general term) ⚫︎ぶつ (ぶつ) - to bump into, to hit (often used in the context of collisions) ⚫︎パンチする (パンチする) - to punch (loan word from English)

There aren't direct antonyms because this verb describes a specific physical action. However, actions that would be the opposite could include words like "to help" or "to protect" depending on the context.

彼は怒って、友達を殴りました。 ・Translation: He got angry and hit his friend. ・Explanation: This sentence shows the use of the past tense form of 殴ります (殴りました), indicating an action that already happened.

もし喧嘩になったら、絶対殴らないでください。 ・Translation: If a fight breaks out, please don't hit anyone. ・Explanation: This sentence uses the negative form of the potential form (殴らないでください), advising against the action of hitting.

The kanji 殴 combines the radical for "hand" (又 or 手) with the phonetic component meaning "to strike." The verb itself has been used in Japanese for a long time.