剥きます（むきます、mukimasu）
- to peel

The Japanese verb 剥きます, read as むきます, means "to peel," "to skin," or "to strip" something of its outer layer. It refers to the act of removing a covering, such as the skin of a fruit or the wrapping of a package. The action implies separation of an outer layer from the inner material.

⚫︎リンゴの皮を剥きます。 Translation: I peel the apple. ⚫︎みかんの皮を剥きます。 Translation: I peel the mandarin orange. ⚫︎プレゼントの包装紙を剥きます。 Translation: I unwrap the present.

⚫︎This verb is commonly used when talking about peeling fruits, vegetables, and other items with a skin or outer layer. ⚫︎It's also used when removing a covering or wrapper. ⚫︎The subject of the sentence usually indicates the person doing the peeling. The object is what is being peeled. ⚫︎Be mindful of context; it wouldn't be appropriate to use 剥きます when referring to removing clothes (that would use another verb).

⚫︎The base form is 剥く （むく）. ⚫︎The polite form, as you asked about, is 剥きます （むきます）. ⚫︎It is written with the kanji 剥 (meaning to peel or strip) and hiragana きます, which is the polite conjugation of the verb. ⚫︎The okurigana (hiragana following the kanji) is く in the dictionary form, and the verb changes depending on the conjugation.

⚫︎むく (unconjugated base form of 剥きます). ⚫︎皮をむく (kawa o muku) - "to peel the skin." ⚫︎Depending on the context and the nature of what's being peeled, other words might be used, but 剥きます is the direct and most common way to say "to peel."

There isn't a single perfect antonym. The opposite action could be seen as "to cover" or "to wrap," but those actions would use completely different verbs.

バナナの皮を剥きます。 ・Translation: I peel the banana. ・Explanation: This sentence describes the action of peeling a banana's skin.

彼はジャガイモの皮を剥き始めました。 ・Translation: He began peeling the potatoes. ・Explanation: This shows the continuous action of peeling potatoes, using the -masu stem (剥き) with the verb "始める" (hajimeru - to begin).

The kanji 剥 (originally derived from the shape of a blade cutting something) means "to peel," "to strip," or "to tear off." The origin comes from the action of removing something from a surface.