目めに入いれても痛いたくない

Meanings

love someone so much you're blind to their faults; apple of one's eye

Idiomatic expression describing doting affection, often for a child or grandchild, where the person can do no wrong in one's eyes. Literally 'it wouldn't hurt even if you put them in your eye'.

孫まごは目めに入いれても痛いたくないほど可愛いかわいい。
My grandchild is so adorable I could just eat them up.
彼かの女じょは一人ひとり娘むすめを目めに入いれても痛いたくないように育そだてた。
She raised her only daughter as the apple of her eye.

Kanji

目eye, class, look
入enter, insert
痛pain, hurt, damage

Related words

かわいい
かわいい simply means 'cute' or 'adorable', while 目に入れても痛くない describes an extreme, doting affection where one overlooks all faults.
溺でき愛あい
溺愛 means 'doting love' or 'spoiling', often with a slightly negative nuance of overindulgence. 目に入れても痛くない is a more vivid, idiomatic expression of blind affection.

Built from

目め+入いれる+いたく

Written forms

目めに入いれても痛いたくない
Standard kanji-kana mixed spelling for this idiomatic expression.
目めにいれてもいたくない
All-kana spelling; sometimes used in casual writing or for clarity.

Etymology

A Japanese idiom literally meaning 'it wouldn't hurt even if you put them in your eye', expressing the idea that someone is so precious that even something normally painful would be bearable. The exact origin is uncertain, but it is a traditional expression of extreme parental or grandparental affection.