Falei com o padre.

Falei is the 1st person singular form of the verb falar in the pretérito perfeito, which is usually called the simple past or preterite in English grammar explanations.

So falei means I spoke or I talked.

• falar = to speak / to talk
• falei = I spoke / I talked

In this sentence, it refers to a completed action in the past.

Portuguese often omits subject pronouns when the verb ending already makes the subject clear.

Since falei can only mean I spoke, eu is not necessary.

So both of these are possible:

• Falei com o padre.
• Eu falei com o padre.

The version without eu is very natural and common.

You might add eu for emphasis, contrast, or clarity, for example:

• Eu falei com o padre, não ela.
  = I spoke with the priest, not her.

Com means with, and with falar, it often expresses the idea of speaking with or talking with someone.

So:

• falar com alguém = to talk with someone / speak with someone

This is very common in Brazilian Portuguese.

You may also see:

• falar com = speak/talk with
• falar a or falar para = speak to

In real usage, especially in Brazil, falar com is extremely common when referring to the person you had the conversation with.

Yes, but the nuance can be slightly different.

• Falei com o padre = I spoke/talked with the priest
• Falei ao padre = I spoke to the priest
• Falei para o padre = I spoke to the priest

In everyday Brazilian Portuguese, falar com is very common and often the most natural choice when you mean you had contact or a conversation with someone.

Falar a can sound more formal or literary in some contexts.
Falar para is also common in speech.

Portuguese often uses the definite article where English does not.

Here, o padre means the priest. This usually suggests a specific priest, one that the speaker and listener can identify from context.

So:

• Falei com o padre. = I spoke with the priest.

If you said Falei com padre, that would sound unusual in standard Portuguese in this context.

In Brazilian Portuguese, using the article before a specific person described by role or title is very normal.

Padre means priest, especially a Catholic priest.

It is the normal word you would use in many everyday contexts in Brazil.

A few related words:

• padre = priest
• sacerdote = priest, but more formal or broader
• pastor = pastor, usually Protestant
• pai = father, but not in the sense of priest

So in this sentence, padre is not just any religious figure; it usually refers specifically to a priest.

In Brazilian Portuguese, falei is roughly pronounced like:

fa-LEI

A helpful approximation for English speakers is:

• fa as in father
• lei somewhat like lay

So the word sounds approximately like fah-LAY.

The stress is on the second syllable: fa-LEI.

A simple approximation is:

fah-LAY koh oo PAH-dree

More naturally in connected Brazilian speech:

fa-LEI coo pa-dri

A few notes:

• com o often blends smoothly in fast speech
• padre is usually pronounced something like PAH-dree or PAH-dri
• the stress is on faLEI and PAdre

This is only an approximation for English speakers, but it is a useful starting point.

Yes. In natural English translation, this sentence can often be rendered as either:

• I spoke with the priest
• I talked to the priest
• I spoke to the priest

The exact English wording depends on context and style. Portuguese does not force a big distinction here.

Yes, but Falei com o padre is the most neutral and natural order.

You might also hear or see:

• Eu falei com o padre.
• Com o padre, falei ontem.
  = more marked, used for emphasis or context

Portuguese word order is somewhat flexible, but for a simple statement, the normal pattern is:

verb + preposition + article + noun

So Falei com o padre is the straightforward form.

It is neutral. It works well in both everyday conversation and normal writing.

Nothing in Falei com o padre is especially slangy, overly formal, or unusual. It is a very standard sentence.

So you can safely treat it as a good everyday model for:

• falar com alguém = to speak/talk with someone
• using the preterite to describe a completed past action