not my forte

Meaning

1. 1phraseidiominformalhumorous

   A light way of saying that you are not good at something, or that it is not an area where you do well.

   Grammar: The pronoun changes with the person: not his forte, not our forte; no verb is needed, though is is often added.

   Patterns

   • something is not my forte
   • something is not someone's forte

   Cooking has never been my strong point; honestly, it is just not my forte.

   Public speaking is not my forte, so I will keep this short.

   Spelling is not his forte, but he has great ideas.

Common combinations

is not my forte

Math is not my forte, so I double-check every sum.

definitely not my forte

Parallel parking is definitely not my forte.

not exactly my forte

Small talk is not exactly my forte.

not really her forte

Patience is not really her forte.

Synonyms and how they differ

not my strong suit

Not my strong suit means almost the same and is slightly more casual; both are used to soften an admission of weakness.

not my cup of tea

Not my cup of tea says you do not enjoy something, whereas not my forte says you are not good at it.

not my thing

Not my thing is blunter and more informal, and can mean either dislike or weakness.

beyond me

Beyond me suggests you cannot understand or do something at all, which is stronger than not my forte.

Opposites

Word family

forte noun

something a person does especially well

fortissimo adverb

in music, very loudly

forte adverb

in music, loudly

Commonly confused: not my forte or fort?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “not my forte”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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