Olá! Tudo bem?
I rarely watch soap operas and one of these I was waiting for a friend to pick me up so we could go grab a beer and I turned on the TV. There was this comedic soap opera on and I ended up watching half hour of it.
Halfway through the first part one of the characters was complaining that she was having a hard time adjusting to his new job because “it just wasn’t his thing”. To say that something is “your thing” in Portuguese we can use the expression: ser a praia de alguém.
That actually means that “something isn’t your beach”, literally. I have no idea where that came from but it is widely used all over Brazil and it’s a very colorful and interesting expression. Let me give you some examples:
Eu sempre tirava nota ruim em Física e Química. Exatas nunca foram minha praia.
I would always get bad grades in Physics and Chemistry. The Exact Sciences were never my thing.
Se você mostrar esse livro de arte pro Pedro ele vai pirar, é a praia dele. Ele adora desenhar e pintar.
If you show Pedro this art book he’s going to flip, it’s his thing. He loves to draw and paint.
Montanha? Não é muito minha praia não, prefiro a cidade mesmo.
Mountains? Not my thing, really, I prefer the city.
You can also use this expression to show someone’s sexual orientation:
Mulher não é muito a praia dele não.
He’s not really into women.
If something is your thing, you like it very much, then you can also used the following verbs and expressions:
Eu curto muito andar de bicicleta à noite.
I really dig riding my bike in the evening.
Ah, se eu fosse você eu iria assistir esse filme. Certeza de que você vai curtir pra caramba.
Ah, if I were you I’d go watch that movie. I’m sure you’re going to dig it a lot.
Eu não sou muito de sair à noite. Prefiro ficar em casa, ver um DVD, pedir uma pizza.
I’m not very big on going out at night. I prefer to stay home, watch a DVD, order a pizza.
Ela não é muito de ficar com rodeios. Ela sempre abre o jogo.
She’s not very big on beating around the bush. She tells it like it it.
Então, qual é a sua praia?
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