First Published: 4th of October, 2018 by Patrick Carpen.
Last updated: March 26, 2021 at 21:11 pmIn English tradition, the exclamatory expression, “You the Man!” is a compliment paid to a male person signifying that he has accomplished something great or is exceptionally skilled in some area or something of that sort.
For example, when my American friend, Bob Delese, saw a picture of my girlfriend and I vacationing in Brazil, he commented, “OK, Patrick, You’re the man.”
The expression “you’re the man,” may be contracted in some dialects as “you da man,” or something similar.
But does Portuguese have a matching expression for the English “you’re the man”?
Yes!
It is: voce e o cara!
voce = you
e = are
o = the
cara = boy, young man, dude, guy, etc.
The literal translation for the word “man” in Portuguese is “homen.” But as you can guess, the expression, “you’re the man” is a figure of speech.
In Portuguese, the word “cara” is a slang or figurative expression for man.
Some time back, I was explaining the English Language course I had created to a Portuguese native. At first, he was a bit confused as to how it worked. But after I explained it to him, he exclaimed, his eyes wide with amazement, “voce e o cara!”
So then, English: you’re the man!
Portuguese: voce e o cara!
So, what’s the Spanish equivalent for the “you’re the man”? Tell us in the comments section!
Related: You’re the Boss!
One possibility using the Spanish spoken in northern Mexico could be: “Eres la onda”