02.Mar.2010 Osore Iru

恐れ入る [おそれいる] – to be sorry; to feel small; to be grateful; to be amazed; to be filled with awe

• 恐れ [おそれ] – fear; anxiety; concern
• 入る [いる] – to go into; to set in

The most common version of this that I have seen is 「恐れ入りますが」which roughly translates to “please excuse me, but…” or something along those lines.  This example just goes to show you that a literal translation doesn’t always cut the mustard.

恐らくis another example that proves this point.  It uses the same character 「恐」but means “perhaps.”