恐れ入る
おそれいる · osoreiru · JLPT N1 · noun
awe
🏔️ 恐れ (awe) + 入る (enter) = awe enters you, so you feel small before something great
Etymology: 恐れ means awe or dread and 入る means to enter. Awe gets inside you and you feel humbled. It is also used as a polite thank-you, meaning roughly 'I am humbled by your kindness.'
入 — single pictograph, two slanting strokes
入 is a pictograph showing an arrowhead or pointed entrance, with two strokes converging downward to suggest something going inward. The original sense was 'to enter,' and it still carries that meaning today. It contrasts visually with 人 (person), where the strokes cross differently at the top.